Maternity leave 'deterring employers from taking on women'
05-09-2008
New rules granting better benefits to pregnant women will see companies reluctant to employ female workers, a law expert has said.
Under new regulations, expectant mothers' rights to childcare vouchers, paid holiday and free gym membership will be extended from the mandatory six months to one full year, the Telegraph reported.
However, according to a representative from UK law firm Allen & Overy, these moves will leave companies, especially smaller businesses, reluctant to employ women.
"The fact that all these changes are happening will mean employers are far less likely to employ women because there is change after change being brought in," said Deepa Nathan, counsel for the employment team at the company.
This could be a significant setback to career-orientated women, the advisor added.
The number of women entering into positions such as senior police officers, newspaper editors and judges has dropped this year, figures from the Equality and Human Rights Commission have discovered.
Digg 
Delicious 
Reddit 
StumbleUpon 
Google 
Technorati 
Netvouz