Pregnant women and new mothers working across public services are regularly exposed to health risks, bullying and violence at work because employers ignore laws or are unaware of staff rights, says UNISON today (Friday).
Research carried out by the union and charity Maternity Action has exposed what they say is a worrying gap between maternity rights in law and women’s real-life experiences at work.
A survey of more than 2,300 women who have had children from 2022 onwards found one in five (20%) had no workplace health and safety risk assessment during their pregnancy, even though employers are legally required to carry one out.
Many of those who were assessed said agreed adjustments to their work, designed to reduce potential risks, had been delayed or ignored.
Such failures have left pregnant staff exposed to unsafe conditions, including violence from service users, heavy lifting, lone working, long shifts and extreme stress, according to the findings.
Many women said they felt compelled to take sick leave or start maternity leave early because employers failed to deliver basic adjustments.
The survey also found more than one in five (22%) women said they were mistreated as a result of their pregnancy. Examples included harassment, loss of opportunities, bullying and a failure to accommodate health conditions related to their pregnancy.
UNISON says lower-paid women and frontline staff in health, social care and the charity sector were most likely to experience and report unsafe conditions or poor treatment.
Many said their managers lacked a basic knowledge of pregnancy and maternity rights, leaving women to challenge unlawful practices themselves or seek union support.
The report found pregnancy discrimination is not isolated or accidental, but often the result of systemic failure to enforce the law. This is made worse by understaffing and working cultures that treat pregnancy as a problem, says the union.
UNISON is calling for employers to ensure pregnancy risk assessments are always carried out promptly, maternity health and safety adjustments are enforced, and managers are trained to understand their legal responsibilities.
That’s even more important in workplaces where there’s a risk of violence or discrimination against staff, the union says.
Stronger maternity pay and flexible working arrangements would mean women are not forced to choose between their health, income and job, UNISON says.
UNISON general secretary Andrea Egan said: “Having a legal right is quite a different matter from actually being protected at work.
“Far too many pregnant women or returning mums are being ignored, placed at risk or treated unfairly because bad employers don’t follow their obligations.
“Those failures leave women exposed to violence and bullying when they’re at their most vulnerable. Lower-paid workers in frontline public services are bearing the brunt of this.
“Employers must close the gap between what the law says and what actually happens at work.”
Maternity Action director Ali Fiddy said: “This research confirms the all-too-familiar picture of unfavourable treatment and discrimination at work that is the reality for many pregnant women and new mothers.
“The experience of some survey respondents is truly shocking. Women whose health and wellbeing are being put at risk due to the behaviour of managers and employers, and who return to work before they’re ready because they can’t afford to take their maternity leave.
“Alongside failures to provide the protection that women are legally entitled to, this report is evidence that – for many women – pregnancy and new parenthood is marred or even endangered by poor employment practice.
“We call upon employers and the government to ensure that the law is complied with, and that maternity pay is uprated as a matter of urgency.”
Notes to editors:
– Comments from UNISON members who took part in the survey included:
“I was removed from exposure to an unsafe child, eventually. But it took my partner emailing in, after I was assaulted and threatened multiple times, for anything to be done.”
“Management wasn’t supportive and made me feel like a burden. ‘If you’re at work you’re expected to work’, was the attitude I faced. When I asked for less stressful tasks during a high-risk pregnancy.”
“Although I have a reduced my working week, my workload and performance expectations remain the same as a full-time role. This has created an unsustainable and demanding work environment.”
– A total of 2,304 women who had children from 2022 onwards took part in the survey, conducted from 22 September 2025 to 6 October 2025. The report, About the rights of pregnant women and new mothers in the workplace, can be found here.
– UNISON is the UK’s largest union, with more than 1.3 million members providing public services in education, local government, the NHS, police service and energy. They are employed in the public, voluntary and private sectors.
– Maternity Action is a charity that protects and strengthens the rights of pregnant women and new parents to employment, social security and healthcare.
– The report is being launched today (Friday 13 February) at a fringe event during the UNISON National Women’s Conference in Liverpool. The conference continues until tomorrow (Saturday).
Media contacts:
Anthony Barnes M: 07834 864794 E: a.barnes@unison.co.uk
Dan Ashley M: 07508 080349 E: d.ashley@unison.co.uk
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