Clause 16
Equality Bill
6:30 pm
Vera Baird (Solicitor General, Attorney General's Office; Redcar, Labour)
The amendments will restate the test for pregnancy and maternity discrimination in clauses 16 and 17. The current test for pregnancy and maternity discrimination in the Sex Discrimination Act 1975 has led to the current drafting of the Bill, which states that a woman must not be treated “less favourably” for reasons of pregnancy or maternity. It is unclear, on one view, with whom or with what treatment is to be compared, so we have tried to make the position clearer. It is settled law that a woman claiming discrimination because of pregnancy or maternity is not required to compare her treatment with that of an actual or hypothetical male or female comparator, and the Bill does not change that. Clause 16(7) will clarify the current position by introducing an objective standard by reference to which it can be tested whether discrimination has taken place.
That was what we wanted to achieve by including in clauses 16 and 17 the test of reasonableness. However, a number of organisations, and several right hon. and hon. Members, expressed concern that the effect of the provision, even though it was drafted with the stated intention, would be to weaken the existing protection against pregnancy and maternity discrimination, which is not what we wanted.