Reform plans threaten maternity leave and job security for half a million pregnant women, analysis shows

[IwantToRetire]

In February, the party’s equality spokesperson Suella Braverman unveiled plans to repeal the act “on day one” if it wins the next election, claiming that Britain is being “ripped apart by diversity, equality and inclusion” policies.

The Equality Act 2010 – which replaced previous anti-discrimination laws with a single act – legally protects those with protected characteristics, including pregnancy and maternity, from discrimination in the workplace and in wider society. It makes it unlawful to fire, harass, or disadvantage women because they are pregnant, have a pregnancy-related illness, or are on maternity leave.

Losing protections from the Equality Act would remove the legal requirement for employers to treat pregnant women and new mothers fairly, likely leading to discrimination.

Protected characteristics under the Equality Act also include age, disability, gender reassignment, marital status, race, religion or belief, sex and sexual orientation.

Ms Braverman described protected characteristics as being “pernicious” and “divisive”.

Full article https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/reform-uk-nigel-farage-equality-act-pregnant-women-maternity-b2967253.html
and https://archive.is/foM0D

Well alll that bother, money and women's time, to get the Supreme Court ruling about sex being biological in the EA,will be pointless as Reform thinks to have sex as a protected characteristic is pernicious and divisive!

‘deep blue’ would be a better answer for right-leaning voters who care about women’s rights than the devil of light blue. 🤷‍♀️

Women have fought for decades to put protections into law, getting rid of them is foolishness of the highest order.
If you want laws better enforced then fight for that, not for the demolition of statutory rights.

Yep, because the audience they’re appealing to wants to blame feminism for the low birthrate, not the cost of housing, or the fact that business leaders keep excitedly telling people there will be no well paid professional jobs in the future because AI will make human skills redundant (which will have a knock-on effect on demand for trades).

We are expected not to join the dots on any of this, of course.

This is a highly partisan hit piece.

Reform have repeatedly said repeal and replace the act, not get rid of it.

It is transparently obvious that Reform are NOT getting rid of maternity leave, come on.

They have not even committed to repealing the GRA - which I am sure way more people would get behind.

So she didn’t say that?

Not surprised. At all. This seems on brand. No NHS. No welfare system. No Maternity leave. No support with childcare costs. No human rights.

Reform reintroducing master and serf to the UK.

Vote Reform. Vote your way to a shittier existence for at least 95% of us.

No, this is a deliberate misunderstanding. It is not, and has never been their policy to repeal without replacing. It's very, very clear.

Replace with what, then? If it's so "very very clear".

Of course they do - anyone thinking of voting for them is an absolute fool.

She’s quoted directly - are you saying they made it up?

Yes I know she is quoted directly. I am equally certain further announcements made it clear that what they mean is repeal and replace. I am even more certain that if you want a new piece of legislation rather than an amendment, which they do, then you repeal the existing one and bring the new on in on the same day.

It's very, very, very clear that Reform are not in any way taking away maternity leave and the Indie are doing a very simplistic hit piece - which sadly seems to be working.

There are plenty of real reasons to put the boot into Reform, please do, they need it as the current front runners. But this is not it.

On the day the equality act came in, a huge amount of things were repealed or revoked.

A list of all legislation that was repealed or revoked on 1 October 2010 is available in Schedule 27 to the Equality Act

All of this was repealed or revoked on the day the Equality Act came in:

Whole Acts repealed

• Sex Disqualification Removal Act 1919: whole Act repealed.
• Equal Pay Act 1970: whole Act repealed.
• Sex Discrimination Act 1975: whole Act repealed.
• Race Relations Act 1976: whole Act repealed.
• Sex Discrimination Act 1986: whole Act repealed.
• Race Relations (Remedies) Act 1994: whole Act repealed.
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995: whole Act repealed.

Major Acts partly repealed

• Estate Agents Act 1979: wording in section 5(3) repealed.
• Further Education Act 1985: section 4 repealed.
• Local Government Act 1988: sections 17(9), 18 and 19(10) repealed.
• Employment Act 1989: sections 1 to 7, section 9, parts of section 28, and a definition in section 29 repealed.
• Local Government and Housing Act 1989: parts of section 7(2) repealed.
• Social Security Act 1989: parts of Schedule 5 repealed.
• Enterprise and New Towns (Scotland) Act 1990: section 18 repealed.
• Contracts (Applicable Law) Act 1990: references to the Equal Pay Act repealed.
• Further and Higher Education Act 1992: paragraphs 75 to 88 of Schedule 8 repealed.
• Trade Union and Labour Relations (Consolidation) Act 1992: entries referring to old discrimination laws removed.
• Trade Union Reform and Employment Rights Act 1993: references to the Sex Discrimination Act and Race Relations Act removed, plus parts of Schedules 6 and 7 repealed.
• Pensions Act 1995: sections 62 to 66 repealed.
• Employment Tribunals Act 1996: several tribunal jurisdiction provisions repealed.
• Employment Rights Act 1996: part of Schedule 1 repealed.
• Armed Forces Act 1996: sections 21, 23 and 24 repealed.
• Education Act 1996: entries and paragraphs linked to sex/disability discrimination repealed.
• Employment Rights (Dispute Resolution) Act 1998: parts of sections 8, 9, 10 and Schedule 1 repealed.
• School Standards and Framework Act 1998: paragraphs 5 to 7 of Schedule 30 repealed.
• Greater London Authority Act 1999: section 404 repealed.
• Learning and Skills Act 2000: section 150(4)(d) and parts of Schedule 9 repealed.
• Race Relations (Amendment) Act 2000: section 1, sections 3 to 10, most of Schedule 2, and Schedule 3 repealed.
• Standards in Scotland’s Schools etc. Act 2000: paragraph 2 of Schedule 2 repealed.
• Special Educational Needs and Disability Act 2001: sections 11 to 33, parts of section 34, sections 38 to 40, and Schedules 2 to 6 repealed.
• Sex Discrimination (Election Candidates) Act 2002: section 1 repealed.
• Employment Act 2002: section 42 and related Schedule 5 entries repealed.
• Education Act 2002: parts of Schedules 7, 18 and 21 repealed.
• Private Hire Vehicles (Carriage of Guide Dogs etc.) Act 2002: sections 1 and 3 to 5 repealed.
• Nationality, Immigration and Asylum Act 2002: parts of Schedule 7 repealed.
• Gender Recognition Act 2004: section 19 and Part 1 of Schedule 6 repealed.
• Civil Partnership Act 2004: section 6(1)(b) and section 6(2) repealed.
• Higher Education Act 2004: section 19 repealed.
• Education (Additional Support for Learning) (Scotland) Act 2004: wording in section 17(1) repealed.
• Disability Discrimination Act 2005: almost all repealed, except certain provisions saved.
• Serious Organised Crime and Police Act 2005: parts of section 56 repealed.
• Education Act 2005: several schedule provisions repealed.
• Charities and Trustee Investment (Scotland) Act 2005: paragraph 3 of Schedule 4 repealed.
• Equality Act 2006: section 25, section 26, section 33, section 43, Part 2, section 81, Part 4, parts of section 94, and parts of Schedule 3 repealed.
• Education and Inspections Act 2006: parts of Schedules 1 and 3 repealed.
• Legal Services Act 2007: parts of Schedule 21 repealed.
• Greater London Authority Act 2007: section 11(5) repealed.
• Regulatory Enforcement and Sanctions Act 2008: references to the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 removed.
• Education and Skills Act 2008: parts of Schedule 1 repealed.
• Local Transport Act 2008: sections 55 and 56 repealed.
• Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009: section 221(3) repealed.

Regulations revoked

• Occupational Pension Schemes (Equal Treatment) Regulations 1995: whole Regulations revoked.
• Employment Equality (Religion or Belief) Regulations 2003: whole Regulations revoked.
• Employment Equality (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2003: whole Regulations revoked.
• Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (Pensions) Regulations 2003: whole Regulations revoked.
• Occupational Pension Schemes (Equal Treatment) (Amendment) Regulations 2005: whole Regulations revoked.
• Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006: revoked, except Schedules 6 and 8.
• Equality Act (Sexual Orientation) Regulations 2007: whole Regulations revoked.
• Sex Discrimination (Amendment of Legislation) Regulations 2008: whole Regulations revoked.

Well I for one do not want to see Reform in charge of diversity, equality and inclusion. And definitely not Suella Braverman. Her track record is abysmal - for instance her opposition to same-sex marriage. How do we know what they might put in place instead? - everything they say makes me believe it will be worse for the most vulnerable people in society.
(and for women too)

I'd be very happy with an Equality act that removed the entire concept of gender identity personally. I feel that damages women's rights quite a lot.

But yes - the argument Reform should not be writing the new one is fair and one to explore, the idea they are removing maternity rights for all females is laughable.

I know a crazy number of people who are voting for them and it makes me despair. I wish it were only awful, terrible people but it’s not. Reform have tapped into something and connected with people who in the main don’t really understand what they are voting for. I don’t mean that to be patronising. But I find it terrifying. Those of us who see it for what it is need to do better than just despair or demonise reform voters. But I’m honestly at a loss of what to say.

There's quite a lot of detail in the article that answers some of the points raised by PP about Reform policies.

I have always found Suella Bravaman terrifying.

In some ways I think the concept of the Equality Act although good on paper, is in practice not that useful.

I think separate bills would be better, and certainly stop the imposition of trans rights as having more rights than sex based rights. (The Supreme Court pointed this out. That the only protect characteristic that had to give way to another is sex.)

It also avoids this catchall Equality Rights. I think most people would be more open to hearing and agreeing to rights about disablity, racism etc., rather than the omincause concept of the current EA.

But certainly wouldn't trust Reform to do this.

Reform have said (I heard Suella Braverman say this) that they will repeal (get rid of) the Equality Act on day 1 of their government. And at the same time get rid of the job of "Equality Minister" (because they don't want equality). There was no mention of putting anything in place of the Equality Act until people started making a noise about it.
The Equality Act is a very big and very complex piece of legislation, supported by a lot of case law. It would take a very, very long time to put anything in its place. If it was going to happen, they would draft and consult on the new law, and get it through Parliament, before repealing the current law. It is not going to happen. That was never the intention.
If Reform was bothered about the transwoman issue (they're really not) then they would make a short and relatively quick amendment to the Act.

The Equality Act includes all the protections that women have achieved in the UK. Including the right to maternity leave and pay, time off for ante natal appointments, the right to return to your job after maternity leave, the right not to have your job application or promotion application turned down because you're a woman. The right not to be sacked because you're a woman. The right to be paid the same as a man for the same job. The right not to be sexually harassed at work. It also protects men and women from age discrimination, disability discrimination, race/colour/nationality discrimination, religious and belief discrimination (including gender critical belief), sexual orientation and gender reassignment discrimination.

If the Act goes, we are back in the dark ages. Women, disabled people and older workers are totally fucked, frankly. And remember that a huge number of people are expected to lose their jobs because of AI. I also wouldn't expect Reform to be paying much to people in the way of welfare benefits or state pensions.

It mostly seems to be the immigration debate driving the support for Reform. I'd imagine the supporters would probs say that men who stone women to death and force 12yo girls to marry old men probs won't be too bothered about things like protected characteristics.

Reform's major support seems to arrive from single-issue voters who share the belief that Britain must be preserved as a single space for natively-born Britons.

i’m sorry I’m really not picking on you at all but as we have already established repealing is part of replacing it’s always part of replacing. It’s a mandatory part I’ve indicated earlier all the different acts that were repealed or voted when the equality act came in that’s normal. The form are not getting rid of everything in the equality act and not replacing it with anything.

It’s okay for you not to believe in borders, but I like everybody else locked my front door when I leave my own house

Yes I do think that people who are in a country illegally should be deported. I don’t think that’s an unreasonable thing to say and about 80% of the electric thinks that as well.

I do believe in Borders.

Really? How are all their much vaunted brexit benefits doing?

Oh.

My father's side of the family is from the post-Clearances Scottish diaspora. But, I'm an immigrant (times over, before arriving here). A lot of the Reform champions don't feel quite as nuanced as you are.

Nowhere near as badly as you might think actually and if you think that the only benefits to staying in the EU or leaving it are economical, then I’ve got some news for you. That’s not why people voted to leave.

(and I voted to stay)

None of the lies he sold that damaged the whole country have become reality. Not economically, not on immigration, no major trade deals, nothing.

He's now proposing to further damage roughly half the country (no published proposals for the replacement mean they do not exist).

I suppose that's technically progress of some sort but I think he has given us more than enough of his talents already.