Entitlement to pay will depend on National Insurance contributions and the woman's contract of employment. Statutory maternity pay is likely to be less than the pay she would have received had she remained at work. The ECJ decided that pay does not have to be maintained at the same level as when the woman was at work. However, back dated pay rises should be used to calculate maternity leave pay. Although this decision ruled out comparisons with men at work, it is not yet clear whether a comparison with men away from work for a justified reason will present an opportunity to challenge any reduction in pay.
All women have the right to be paid time off work for ante-natal care.
A woman is also entitled to be suspended on full pay where for health and safety reason it is not permitted for her to return to work for a specified period after the birth of her child. In a redundancy situation a woman must be considered for alternative employment. Any dismissal for a pregnancy related reason will be automatically unfair. This protection however provides compensation only on the basis of unfair dismissal and is limited, unlike sex discrimination cases. It may therefore still be important to look to the Sex Discrimination Act for wider protection based on less favourable treatment because the woman is pregnant.