Mum Friendly Workplaces: What employers can do

An estimated 70% of mothers in Scotland are in paid employment. However, awareness of maternity rights is low – affecting businesses and families alike.

Research by the EHRC found more than three quarters of pregnant women and new mothers – the equivalent of 390,000 women – experience negative and potentially discriminatory treatment at work each year. As an employer, being aware of and tackling maternity discrimination has a multitude of benefits for both your organisation and the people you employ.

Read this page for key information about maternity discrimination and rights, or learn more by taking the Mum Friendly Workplace Test.

Understanding the basics

What is Statutory Maternity Pay (SMP)?

What are employees' rights on Maternity Leave?

All employees have the right to 52 weeks maternity leave with the right to return to work thereafter.
They are entitled to all their contractual terms and conditions during maternity leave, apart from pay.
They have the right to be offered a suitable alternative vacancy if they are made redundant during maternity leave.
They have the right to ask for flexible work.
They are protected against unfair treatment, unfair dismissal, discrimination because of pregnancy, child birth and maternity leave.

Examples of maternity discrimination

What the law says

Legislative provisions include:

Equality Act 2010 which outlaws discrimination against employees because of the ‘protected characteristic’ of pregnancy and maternity during the ‘protected period.’
Employment Rights Act 1996 which sets out rights to health and safety, time off for ante-natal care, maternity leave and unfair dismissal.
Maternity & Parental Leave etc. Regulations 1999 which set out a woman’s entitlement to maternity leave and the notification requirements. European law including the Pregnant Workers Directive and the recast Equal Treatment Directive which provide pregnant women or women on maternity leave with protected status.

Note, legislation surrounding maternity rights is different in Scotland to the rest of the UK. Also pay attention to the Fair Work Framework, which is becoming part of the employment framework in Scotland.

“Being mum-friendly is about ensuring you have the right conversations with people, being honest that you’re not always going to get it right but being open enough to shape things differently.”

— Stellar Quines

Pregnancy timelines

With all the different stresses pregnancy can bring, employees need you to be clear on the process.

We created these timelines to make employees' maternity rights clear. You can use them when an employee tells you they're pregnant, to make sure they don't miss out on maternity leave or SMP.

Mums Returning To Work Pregnancy Timeline

By Jenn | December 1, 2021

Mums Returning To Work Pregnancy Timeline Poster

By Jenn | December 1, 2021

The benefits of being a Mum Friendly employer

Why your business should prioritise getting it right for mums and pregnant employees.

Increased staff morale and productivity

Better employee retention

Reduction in recruitment costs

Increase in consumer awareness of you as an ethical employer

“We promote flexible recruitment to employers and raise awareness that they are potentially missing out on valuable skillsets if they should ignore this.”

— Family Friendly Working Scotland

Good practice success stories

Use these examples to inspire practical solutions for your context.

Understanding peri-natal mental health to better support staff

ACE Place and Out of School Care, situated in Rutherglen Glasgow is an equal opportunities and Living Wage employer who believe their staff are the biggest asset in promoting connections with children and their families at the heart of their service delivery.

Our work together highlighted a need for staff to better understand how to handle peri-natal mental health needs amongst the staff team as well as for families the nursery are providing a service for. We collaborated with professionals in peri-natal mental health to fill this gap. We then co-designed a pregnancy and returning to work timeline bespoke to ACE Place, which is designed to give staff and managers the confidence to check in regularly as well as embedding peri-natal mental health aware practices.

“We have reflected on how we approach and support parents coming into the setting. For example, signposting them to health visitors, often concerns are around a child’s development however there is also an underlying issue that the parent may be requiring personal support.It has also made us more considerate of how we are with staff returning and the struggles they may have. It has highlighted even more the need for us to have a procedure in place to share with staff from the moment they tell us they are pregnant right through to the first months back at work.”

— Ashleigh Anderson, Nursery and Out of School Care Manager

A social enterprise committed to nurturing the well-being of their staff

Indigo Group is a social enterprise, operating as a limited company and situated in Castlemilk, Glasgow. They are committed to nurturing the wellbeing of their staff team in order to secure the best possible outcomes for their children and young people. Indigo as a workplace is open to shaping organisational practice around the experiences and skills of their staff team and promote learning opportunities for all staff to enable this.

In collaboration with staff and managers, we identified that ‘open door’ policies were a useful space to support this, however did not work for everyone, particularly for staff returning after maternity- who often felt very distant from changes to the workplace on their return. To mitigate this, we researched alternative supports women found useful from their own workplace experiences across different sectors via an online ‘wellbeing in the workplace’ survey so that we could provide practical solutions for practice. We rated the findings and found that workplace buddy schemes were effective in linking mum returners with colleagues who have ‘been there’ as a source of peer support to help with their overall wellbeing at work.

Indigo have now embedded a ‘buddy scheme’ which links new mum returners with other mums who have had the experience of returning to work and the challenges this brings. Indigo have implemented the scheme as a group support network to improve work based social support as well as a place to manage workloads and feed into organisational practice so that wellbeing is respected and sustained in the workplace.

“We now hope that with our continued commitment to our staff, our strong belief in our organisational values and our new knowledge and understanding gained from working alongside the team at Mums Returning to Work that staff at all levels are able to support each other and potential new families that look to join our services”

— Jacqueline Lamb, Chief Executive of Indigo Childcare Group

An inclusive workplace that puts staff and their caring responsibilities first

Cadzow Nursery successfully implemented practical working solutions and flexibility for mums returning to work. In doing so, they negotiated a working culture where staff feel valued and deliver a successful service as a result.

As part of the solution, the organisation offered childcare discounts for nursery placements to mums returning from maternity leave.

This has encouraged uptake of nursery placements – allowing mums to be happy and confident at work that their children are receiving a high quality of care and learning. This system has also reduced the risk of informal arrangements falling through and causing staff absences.

In addition, managers were taught how to set a tone that respects employees as a whole person, with responsibilities and a life outside of the workplace. As a result, workers felt more invested in the business – with mum returners stating that they were now more willing to offer overtime and adapt their schedules.

This mutual respect between employers and staff balances expectations of flexibility at both ends, and results in a better working environment for each party.

— Leanne Kelly, Manager of Cadzow Nursery

Learn more and take the test

We encourage you to learn more by Taking the Mum Friendly Workplace Test. It shares real mums' experiences through short videos, and covers how to put Mum Friendly principles into policy and practice.

Visit the Guide for Working Mums for information and self-advocacy materials for mums.

Work with your team to create a Mum Friendly Workplace

The only way to fully imagine and implement Mum Friendly and family-friendly workplace practices is by working together with your team. Businesses need to listen to the experiences of women, mums, and other members of the workplace, to understand wellbeing barriers in their unique context.

Outside the Box can work with your management and staff teams to conduct a Mum Friendly consultation, and provide concrete next steps for implementation. Get in touch to learn how we can support you.

Or you can use our Mum Friendly Training Support Pack yourself, as a guide through the different conversations you'll need to have in the process. The 'Good Practice Guide' shares success stories from employers who have put Mum Friendly principles into action. We hope these resources help you develop ideas and actions that work for your whole team.