Maternity leave

Up to 50,000 women who take maternity leave each year are unable to return to their jobs because of discrimination by employers, according to research by the House of Commons Library.

It found that nearly 15% of the 340,000 women who take maternity leave every year find their positions under threat when they try to return.

The research found that some are told that they cannot do their old job part-time and are made to take up positions with less responsibility, while others are effectively constructively dismissed.

New government rules will make disputing these cases a lot tougher as women will now have to pay £1,200 to take a maternity discrimination case to an employment tribunal.

Labour says it intends to make maternity rights a central issue in the run-up to the next general election.