Half a million pregnant women could lose workplace protections each year under Reform UK’s plans to scrap the Equality Act, new analysis has shown, with charities and campaign groups warning that plans would “wipe out decades of progress”.
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.
Reform has said it would introduce a new “Workplace Fairness Act” to replace the Equality Act, saying it would “restore fairness, protect women, and rebuild public trust in the law by treating people as individuals rather than separating them into competing groups”. But they have not provided details on what protections this legislation would include.
Ms Braverman described protected characteristics as being “pernicious” and “divisive”.
Pregnancy rights charity Pregnant then Screwed warned that scrapping the legislation “would have catastrophic effects for everyone”, calling for “more support for mothers and parents” not less.
Meanwhile, research from the Women’s Budget Group, conducted in 2023, found that pregnancy and maternity discrimination was the single most common employment law issue for which women sought advice and support.
The think tank warned that weakening equality protections “would take us backwards”, arguing that “too many women are still pushed out, sidelined or treated unfairly during pregnancy, maternity leave or when returning to work”.
It comes after analysis conducted by the Labour Party estimated that as many as half a million pregnant women could be left without protection each year if the act was scrapped, analysis based on statistics on the number of live births in 2024 (640,000) and the percentage of women in employment (72 per cent).
Responding to the figures, Rachel Grocott, CEO of Pregnant Then Screwed, told The Independent: “Scrapping the Equality Act is an unthinkable proposal. This is not some meaningless piece of bureaucracy; it is the means by which everyone is supported to work and participate in society on an equal and fair basis.
“Removing protections for women to work, and to return to work after having children, would wipe out decades of progress – leaving half a million pregnant women without workplace protections is simply shocking.
“It should be made crystal clear to voters that this would have catastrophic effects for everyone. We need to be building on the foundations of the Equality Act and providing more support for mothers and parents – not going seriously backwards by removing the basic protections afforded to us by the Equality Act.”
Erin Mansell, deputy director at the Women’s Budget Group, told The Independent: “The Equality Act 2010 is a landmark piece of legislation and remains one of the most important tools women have to challenge discrimination at work.
“Too many women are still pushed out, sidelined or treated unfairly during pregnancy, maternity leave or when returning to work, weakening these protections would take us backwards.
“Pregnancy and maternity discrimination remains a persistent reality across England and Wales… We also know that Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic women and Disabled women can face overlapping and compounded forms of discrimination, making strong legal protections even more essential.”
Meanwhile, Labour Party chair Anna Turley accused Reform of being “intent on stripping away women’s rights”.
She added: “Nigel Farage has previously said women are worth less to employers than men and that maternity leave is lunacy. Now, Reform want to rip up vital protections for women at the time they most need them.”
Plans to scrap the Equality Act come despite a number of senior Reform politicians calling for action to increase the declining birth rate.
Earlier this year,The Independent revealed that Reform UK’s candidate in the Gorton and Denton by-election, Matt Goodwin, previously called for women and young girls to be given a “biological reality” check, as he gave his views on how Britain should tackle its impending “fertility crisis”.
He had previously suggested people who don’t have children should be taxed extra as punishment.
Meanwhile, Nigel Farage has said those who have “quite a few children” could be given tax breaks to help with the cost of living if his party came to power.
The party’s head of policy, Dr James Orr, has also advocated for pro-natalist public policy, saying that the “gap between desired fertility and actual fertility was getting wider and wider in most parts of the West”.
But Ms Mansell warned that weakening equality protections would mean “more women may feel forced to delay starting a family or decide they do not want to take that risk at all”.
She said: “At a time when starting a family has become increasingly difficult, weakening these protections would make that challenge even greater.
“Families are already under intense financial pressure, with the cost of essentials rising once again, housing becoming less affordable and childcare costs placing a massive strain on household budgets.
“Motherhood is still associated with lower pay, fewer opportunities for progression and greater insecurity at work after having children.
“If women cannot trust that pregnancy or maternity leave will not put their job, income or career at risk, it is hardly surprising that more women may feel forced to delay starting a family or decide they do not want to take that risk at all.”
A Reform UK Spokesman said: “Reform UK will deliver the most pro-family government in a generation with expectant and new mothers supported and celebrated at every stage.
“The Equality Act, though well-intentioned, has too often produced unfair and divisive outcomes, for example, prioritising ideology over common sense and punishing people for being white or working class.
“It needs careful, targeted reform through a new Workplace Fairness Act to restore fairness, protect women, and rebuild public trust in the law by treating people as individuals rather than separating them into competing groups.”
