A great unknown from this reform is whether the protected period can be transferred. It is not uncommon for women to move roles during maternity leave for completely legitimate reasons.

Under this change, we do not know whether a woman who moves to a new employer 12 months after giving birth would get enhanced redundancy protection with that new employer.

We believe that this would be disproportionate. It could also be counterproductive as it could put employers off hiring new mothers. It will be interesting to see what is decided. 

What this change will not do is give much reassurance to the large number of mothers dismissed before or shortly after they begin maternity leave.

These women will still face difficulties arising from the nature of England’s loss-based compensation system and the fact that no legal aid is given to women bringing discrimination claims. 

Another barrier is the fact that parties in the employment tribunal are generally liable for their own costs – unlike the civil courts where the losing party pays most of the other side’s legal fees. This can make even clear-cut cases economically unviable.

Another change on the horizon that could help new mothers is the right to request flexible working arrangement from day one of employment. 

If an employer unreasonably refuses to consider the possibility of flexible working, then it is likely that any dismissal will be unfair and discriminatory. However, in practice, employers have a lot of discretion to reject flexible working requests.

Susan Thompson is a partner and Andrew Lloyd is an associate – employment at Simkins