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Maternity Rights in the UK: Light at the End of the Tunnel?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2023

Jill Earnshaw
Jill Earnshaw*
Affiliation:
Manchester School of Management, University of Manchester Institute of Science and Technology, United Kingdom
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Abstract

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Maternity rights in the UK have from the outset aroused controversy on account of their intricacy and failure to apply to all working women. This article charts the historical development of such rights and highlights in particular the influence of European Union law in widening their ambit. It also sets out the current statutory provisions and describes how case law has at the same time compounded the problems of complexity and attempted to construe the legislation in a purposive manner. The article concludes by noting recent legislative changes and assessing their potential to resolve the existing problems as well as their effect on bringing the UK into line with its European Union partners.

Type
Symposium on Parental Rights and Work/Family Balance
Information
The Economic and Labour Relations Review , Volume 10 , Issue 2 , December 1999 , pp. 169 - 187
Copyright
Copyright © The Author(s) 1999

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