Gloria De Piero MP, Labour’s Shadow Minister for Women and Equalities, responding to an EHRC review into discrimination during pregnancy, said:

“Labour has been calling on the Government for months to properly investigate the extent of pregnancy discrimination, so this is welcome news.

"It is shocking that three years after Labour made pregnancy discrimination illegal, so many women are still losing their jobs or finding they have been sidelined after taking maternity leave.

"But Maria Miller needs to wake up to the impact her own Government’s policies. Low paid new mums have lost almost £3,000 in support in the first two years of their baby’s life under this Government, and by introducing £1,200 tribunal fees costing the equivalent of nine weeks maternity pay, challenging maternity discrimination has increasingly become unaffordable for new parents struggling with the rising cost of living.

“Labour will strengthen the law to grant greater protection for new mums against discrimination and raise the responsibility on employers to take positive steps to support new mums who want to return to work.”