Employment Law Guide 2026: Additional dismissal protection for pregnant women and new parents

From 2027, the Government plans to extend dismissal protection for pregnant women and new mothers and possibly for others who take periods of family leave, including adoption, shared parental and neonatal care leave.

Currently, it is unlawful to discriminate against women because they are pregnant or because they are, or have been, on maternity leave. Pregnant women and new mothers also have enhanced protections in redundancy situations, with employers having to offer them any suitable available vacancy. This protection begins when the woman tells her employer that she is pregnant and ends 18 months after the child’s birth (or if a woman does not have the right to maternity leave it ends two weeks after the end of the pregnancy). A failure by the employer to comply renders the dismissal automatically unfair. This enhanced redundancy protection is also extended to those on adoption leave and in certain circumstances, to those on shared parental and neonatal care leave). It is also automatically unfair to dismiss a woman or select her for redundancy if the reason is connected with her pregnancy or maternity leave.

The Government will use powers in the ERA 2025 to make it unlawful to dismiss a woman while she is pregnant, on maternity leave and for a minimum period of six months after her return to work, except in specific circumstances. In October 2025, the Government consulted on these protections seeking views on:

• the circumstances in which employers should still be able to fairly dismiss pregnant women and new mothers. It is considering whether to narrow the scope of and/or remove some of the current potentially fair reasons for dismissal or to impose stricter standards for a fair dismissal
• when these protections should start and end and whether the protection should apply from the first day of employment, and
• whether similar protections should be afforded to other groups, such as those on adoption, shared parental and neonatal care leave.

The consultation closes on 15 January 2026.

Implications/Action points

• Watch out for the consultation response and regulations dealing with the specific circumstances in which dismissal of pregnant women (and possibly others) will be permitted
• Potential to add complications to redundancies and reorganisations, as well as performance management and disciplinary process
• Train managers so they understand the new protections
• Maternity and other policies will need updating.