It is an all too familiar story, a woman falls pregnant and suddenly her boss is no longer interested in her work. There is gossip around the office. She goes on maternity leave in order to have the child and returns to find that someone else is doing her job or that her position has been made redundant. It may not be openly stated or there may be reasoned used by management which do not actually paint the full picture, but it does often happen that people who fall pregnant have far less career prospects than those that do not take on children.

In NSW it is generally against the law to treat you unfairly or harass you because you are pregnant, in employment; when you get, or try to get, most types of goods or services — for example, from shops, hotels, entertainment venues, banks, lawyers, government departments, doctors or hospitals;
when you rent, or try to rent, accommodation — for example, a unit, house, commercial premises, hotel room or motel room; or when you apply to get into, or are studying in, any State educational institution — State school, college, TAFE or university; and when you try to enter or join a registered club, or when you’re inside one — a registered club includes any club that sells alcohol or has gambling machines.

In terms of rights at work, it is unlawful to not hire you because they think you might become pregnant;
dismiss or retrench you because you are pregnant; harass you, deny you training just because you’re pregnant; stop you being promoted just because you’re pregnant; or not give you the same or a similar job when you return from maternity leave. Generally, if you’ve been working regularly for 12 months with the same employer, you have the right to take maternity leave and return to your job afterwards. If you think that you have been discriminated against in one of these contexts, please do not hesitate to contact us.