Pregnancy and maternity rights for students

Overview

Pregnancy and maternity are protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010. Since 1 October 2010, students at universities and other further and higher education institutions in England and Wales have had explicit legal protection from discrimination because of pregnancy and maternity, in the same broad way that has long applied to workers. This sits alongside each university’s own pregnancy, maternity, paternity and adoption policies, which set out the practical arrangements for leave, absence and support.

It is important to understand at the outset that the rights of students are not identical to the employment rights of workers. Students are not employees, so they do not have statutory maternity leave and statutory maternity pay in the way an employee does. Instead, they have protection from unfavourable treatment, a right to reasonable adjustments to their studies, and rights that flow from the university’s own policies and its public sector equality duty.

Protection from discrimination under the Equality Act 2010

Part 6 of the Equality Act 2010 covers education, and section 91 applies its provisions to universities and other higher education institutions. A student is protected from discrimination, harassment and victimisation because of pregnancy or maternity.

In practical terms, a university must not treat a student unfavourably because she is pregnant, because she has given birth, or because of a pregnancy-related illness. The protection covers a defined maternity period, and the university’s obligations extend to how it deals with attendance, deadlines, examinations, assessment, placements and academic progression during and after pregnancy.

The protection also prevents indirect discrimination, where a policy or practice that appears neutral puts pregnant students or student parents at a particular disadvantage without objective justification. Harassment related to pregnancy or maternity, and victimisation for raising a complaint or supporting someone else’s complaint, are also unlawful.

Because pregnancy and maternity are protected, a university generally cannot lawfully penalise a student, or require her to leave or suspend her studies, simply because she is pregnant. Any suspension or interruption of study should be something the student is supported to choose, not something imposed because of the pregnancy.

Maternity-related absence and interruption of study

Students do not have a statutory entitlement to a fixed period of maternity leave in the way employees do. What they typically have, under university policy and equality guidance followed across the higher education sector, is a right to take a reasonable period of maternity-related absence and to have that managed supportively.

Sector guidance recommends that a student takes a minimum period of absence after the birth, commonly suggested as at least two weeks, subject to individual medical circumstances and advice. Beyond that minimum, the length and timing of any absence is generally a matter to be agreed between the student and the university, taking account of the structure of the course, examination and assessment points, and any professional or placement requirements.

Most universities offer the option of an interruption or suspension of studies (sometimes called intercalation or a leave of absence) so that the student can pause and resume the course later without academic penalty. The key point is that the university should discuss options rather than force a particular outcome, and any decision should not disadvantage the student because of the pregnancy or maternity.

Fathers, partners and adoptive parents are usually also covered by university policies for support and reasonable absence around the birth or placement, for example to attend the birth, medical appointments or adoption meetings, although their protection under the Equality Act is narrower than the pregnancy and maternity protection for the mother.

Assessments, examinations and deadlines

A university should make reasonable arrangements so that a pregnant student or a student who has recently given birth is not put at an unfair disadvantage in assessment. This can include rescheduling examinations, extending deadlines, offering alternative assessment dates, or allowing an examination to be sat during a later assessment period.

Pregnancy-related illness and medical appointments should be treated sympathetically, and absence for antenatal care or pregnancy-related sickness should not be counted against the student in the same way as unauthorised absence. If a student misses assessments because of pregnancy or maternity, the university’s mitigating or extenuating circumstances procedures should be applied.

Practical facilities and accommodation

University policies and sector guidance also address practical support, including facilities for breastfeeding or expressing milk, health and safety considerations for pregnant students especially on courses involving laboratories, clinical placements or fieldwork, and arrangements for student accommodation. If a pregnant student or student parent lives in university accommodation, the university should consider what adjustments or alternative arrangements are reasonable.

Health and safety is particularly relevant for students on practical, clinical or laboratory-based courses. The university should carry out a risk assessment and adjust activities where continuing them would pose a risk during pregnancy or breastfeeding.

Financial support and funding

Financial support is a common area of concern, because students do not receive statutory maternity pay from the university. The position depends on the student’s own circumstances and funding.

Undergraduate students funded through Student Finance England may be able to interrupt their studies and there are rules about how maintenance funding is affected during a period of interruption; some students may be entitled to certain benefits during that period that are not normally available to full-time students. There are also grants aimed at student parents, such as the Childcare Grant, Parents’ Learning Allowance and the Adult Dependants’ Grant for eligible undergraduates.

Because entitlement to benefits and continued student funding during maternity-related interruption is fact-specific and depends on your course, mode of study, funding body and personal circumstances, it is worth checking your exact position with Student Finance England, the university’s student funding or money advice service, and a benefits adviser such as Citizens Advice before you make decisions about interrupting.

International students

International students on a visa need particular care, because interrupting studies or taking extended absence can affect immigration status and sponsorship under the student visa route. If you are an international student, you should raise your plans with the university’s international student support team before agreeing any interruption, so that any impact on your visa and the university’s sponsor duties can be managed.

The university’s own policy and the public sector equality duty

Almost every university has a specific student pregnancy, maternity, paternity and adoption policy. This is the first document you should obtain and read, because it sets out how absence, leave, notification, support and academic arrangements work in practice at your institution. These policies are generally designed to comply with the Equality Act and with established higher education sector guidance.

As public authorities, universities are also subject to the public sector equality duty, which requires them to have due regard to the need to eliminate discrimination and advance equality of opportunity, including for pregnant students and new parents. This supports an expectation that the institution will act flexibly and supportively rather than rigidly.

If you think your rights have not been respected

If you believe the university has treated you unfavourably because of pregnancy or maternity, or has refused reasonable arrangements, there is a sensible order in which to proceed.

1. Gather the documents. Collect the university’s pregnancy and maternity policy, your correspondence, any decisions about deadlines, assessments or interruption, and a note of relevant dates and conversations.

2. Raise it informally first. Speak to your academic supervisor, personal tutor, disability or student support service, or the students’ union advice centre. Many issues are resolved quickly once the policy is applied properly.

3. Put it in writing. If informal steps do not work, make a clear written complaint through the university’s internal complaints procedure, explaining what happened, why you consider it unfavourable treatment connected to pregnancy or maternity, and what outcome you want.

4. Use the students’ union. Students’ union advisers are experienced in supporting complaints and appeals and can help you present your case.

5. Complete the internal process and obtain a Completion of Procedures letter. Once the internal complaint is exhausted, you can take an unresolved complaint to the Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education, which reviews student complaints against universities in England and Wales. There is normally a time limit for bringing a complaint to the OIA after the Completion of Procedures letter, so act promptly.

6. Consider the discrimination route separately. Where the issue amounts to unlawful discrimination under the Equality Act, a claim can be brought in the County Court, and there are strict time limits for such claims. This is a more formal and stressful route, and it is usually sensible to exhaust internal and OIA routes first, but the court option exists where the matter is serious and cannot be resolved otherwise. The Equality Advisory and Support Service and Citizens Advice can help you understand the discrimination route and its deadlines.

Information that would sharpen this advice

The precise answer for your situation depends on several things that you have not yet stated: whether you are an undergraduate or postgraduate, full-time or part-time, a home or international student, how you are funded, whether your course involves placements or professional accreditation requirements, and exactly what the university has done or refused to do. It would also help to know the terms of your own university’s pregnancy and maternity policy and the specific stage of your course at which the pregnancy or birth falls, because timing relative to examinations and assessment often drives the practical options.

Key points to take away

Pregnancy and maternity are protected characteristics, so a university cannot lawfully treat you unfavourably because you are pregnant or have recently given birth. You do not have statutory maternity leave or pay as a student, but you do have the right to be supported through reasonable maternity-related absence, to have assessments and deadlines adjusted, and to interrupt and resume your studies without penalty. Your university’s own pregnancy and maternity policy is the practical starting point, backed by the Equality Act and the public sector equality duty. If things go wrong, work through the internal process, the students’ union and then the Office of the Independent Adjudicator, keeping the separate discrimination claim route and its deadlines in mind.