A Labour minister has said the party would extend the time limit to raise an employment tribunal claim.

Speaking at a fringe event of the Labour Party conference in Liverpool, Anneliese Dodds, shadow women and equalities secretary, said the limit should be raised from three to six months.

This was necessary in particular to give pregnant women who may have been unfairly dismissed more time to get redress.

Dodds called for a ‘genuine end to the motherhood penalty once and for all’.

Labour has discussed the possibility of extending time limits for employment tribunal claims in the past. The party’s employment rights green paper, A new deal for working people, proposed the idea in 2021, but Dodds’ statement appears to suggest this has been signed off as policy.

She was speaking at an event organised by the campaign group Pregnant Then Screwed, which pushes for mothers to be given greater statutory rights.

In 2017, an early day motion in parliament received the support of 103 MPs from across the House, but as the law stands, potential claimants have three months to raise a claim from the point at which they were subjected to workplace discrimination (albeit there is room for discretion from an employment judge).

The group says that mothers who are mid-term are often forced to decide about bringing a claim while still pregnant.

‘The tribunal experience coupled with the experience of being discriminated against places undue pressure on pregnant women and new mothers, and in the case of high-risk pregnancies, it also endangers the health of the unborn baby,’ said the group. ‘Bringing a claim within this time is an unreasonable expectation of discrimination victims and is one of the reasons why less than 1% raise a claim.’

Barrister Gus Baker, from Outer Temple chambers, told the meeting he often has to have difficult conversations with potential clients about their prospects if they have brought claims after more than three months.

He said: ‘The three-month time limit for discrimination complaints discourages many people with strong cases from bringing them.

'Whilst in Equality Act claims the tribunal has a discretion to extend time, this is the exception, not the rule and creates uncertainty dissuading meritorious cases. A six-month time limit would be better for employers and employees: allowing more space for negotiations instead of causing a rush towards litigation.’

 

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