Equality ‘at risk’ without bill

The government’s failure to include an employment bill in the Queen’s Speech risks “turning the clock back” for women at work according to a trio of women’s groups who joined the TUC in expressing their frustration at the absence of the long-awaited legislation.

The Fawcett Society, Maternity Action and the Women’s Budget Group came together with the TUC to condemn the government’s decision, saying the lack of an employment bill put women’s equality at risk by failing to introduce promised protections to prevent pregnancy and maternity discrimination, as well as measures to extend paid leave when newborns need neo-natal care, and a legal one-week’s leave entitlement for unpaid carers.

The legislation, first promised in December 2019, was “quietly shelved” they said, a move which will hamper efforts to advance women’s equality in the workplace and protect women from sexual harassment at work.

Women’s Budget Group director Mary-Ann Stephenson said: “Failing to deliver this bill is failing to deliver for women. This bill would have provided vital protections when many are faced with growing economic uncertainty. Instead, we have a set of policies that fail to consider the reality of women’s lives and fail to deliver the change women need.”