Equality and Human Rights Commission

An employer must not refuse to employ you if, when you apply for a job, you are pregnant, on maternity leave or you have (or have had) an illness related to your pregnancy.

Equality law does not say that you have to tell an employer that you are pregnant when you apply for a job. The employer should not base their decision about whether or not to employ you on whether you are pregnant but on whether you have the skills to do the job.

If you do not tell the employer that you are pregnant and the employer gives you the job, they must not dismiss you when you tell them about your pregnancy.

For example:

A woman applies for a job as a training instructor. On the basis of her application form and her interview, the employer decides she is the best person for the job and offers the job to her. She has just discovered she is pregnant and tells the employer this when she accepts the job offer. If the employer changes their mind and withdraws the job offer, this would be direct discrimination and cannot be justified.

You may want to read the suggestions for employers on dealing with pregnancy and maternity which are in the Equality and Human Rights Commission’s New and expectant parents toolkit.

If you are a woman, an employer should not ask you whether you intend to have children, whatever your age or marital status or even if they think you might be pregnant. This is not something that the employer should be taking into account in deciding whether you have the skills needed for a particular job. You do not have to answer a question like this, although obviously this puts you in a difficult position if you want to get the job and are worried the employer will hold your refusal to answer against you.

If an employer asks you these questions, it may lead you to think the only reason they want to know is so that they can discriminate against you. There is more information about what to do if you believe you've been discriminated against.