Maternity Action is the UK’s leading charity committed to ending inequality and improving the health and well-being of pregnant women, partners and young children – from conception through to the child’s early years.
www.maternityaction.org.ukGrants
Maternity Action
Delivering ‘just in time’ information on maternity rights at work
Grant: £39,500
November 13, 2017
The project will deliver ‘just in time’ information for pregnant women on maternity rights at work through apps and other social media channels.
The project will:
- engage with commercial apps targeting pregnant women and negotiate for inclusion of customised text and existing videos in the apps as free content, building on their experience of working with a non-commercial app provider;
- develop and implement a plan to deliver maternity rights information using social media channels, including development of appropriate visual materials;
- review and improve the navigation on their website to improve access to video and text materials, recognising the increased use of mobiles to access online information;
- evaluate the effectiveness of these interventions to inform future projects to build legal capability.
Maternity Action is well-placed to undertake this work as they are currently completing a project to deliver ‘just in time’ information on maternity rights through the Baby Buddy app, which is provided by the charity Best Beginnings.
| Increase Public Understanding | Advance High Quality Thinking | Increase Access to Employment |
| General Public | ||
| Implications of Brexit | Legal Needs in Healthcare Settings | Influence the Online Court |
| Develop Robust Evidence Base | ||
| Understand Role of Technology | ||
| Law Reform, Policy and Regulation | ||
| Communications to Disseminate Learning | ||
Maternity Action
Delivering maternity rights information through apps and email-based notification
Grant: £8,000
October 11, 2017
| Increase Public Understanding | Advance High Quality Thinking | Increase Access to Employment |
| General Public | ||
| Implications of Brexit | Legal Needs in Healthcare Settings | Influence the Online Court |
| Develop Robust Evidence Base | ||
| Understand Role of Technology | ||
| Law Reform, Policy and Regulation | ||
| Communications to Disseminate Learning | ||
Maternity Action
Delivering maternity rights information through apps and email-based notification
Grant: £57,450
November 9, 2016
The project will develop ‘just in time’ information for pregnant women on maternity rights at work, to be delivered through pregnancy-related apps and email notification services. Written and video materials suitable for inclusion in the Baby Buddy app and written materials suitable for inclusion in Public Health England’s Start4Life email notification service will be produced. Partnerships with other apps and email services will also be explored.
Pregnancy discrimination is widespread and increasing. Government research found that 11% of pregnant women lose their jobs because of discrimination. Only 3% of these women pursue a grievance and fewer than 1% take their claim to the employment tribunal. Lack of knowledge about rights is a factor in women choosing not to take action.
The resources will be informed by Maternity Action's 2016 report, "Use of apps to deliver maternity rights information: scoping report", which includes a literature review and data from focus groups and stakeholder interviews. The resources will be piloted prior to release. The resources will be fully evaluated and learning will inform future projects to build legal capability. Maternity Action is well-positioned to undertake video work as they are currently completing three videos on pregnancy discrimination, focusing on sickness and health and safety.
| Increase Public Understanding | Advance High Quality Thinking | Increase Access to Employment |
| General Public | ||
| Implications of Brexit | Legal Needs in Healthcare Settings | Influence the Online Court |
| Develop Robust Evidence Base | ||
| Understand Role of Technology | ||
| Law Reform, Policy and Regulation | ||
| Communications to Disseminate Learning | ||
Maternity Action
Building Legal Capability Of Pregnant Women At Work
Grant: £57,300
November 10, 2015
The project will produce four short videos guiding pregnant women and new mothers through the processes they need to follow to resolve disputes about management of sickness at work and will also scope use of apps to deliver maternity rights information.
Pregnancy discrimination, including poor management of sickness, is widespread. Government research found that 11% of pregnant women lose their jobs because of discrimination. Only 8% of these women take formal action (pursue a grievance, seek advice, employment tribunal claim).
The videos will guide low income women through informal meetings with their employers and the formal grievance process, complementing Maternity Action's widely used online information. The videos will be informed by focus groups with low income women and input from unions, and will be piloted with women prior to release to test efficacy. The videos will be fully evaluated and the learning will inform future projects to build legal capability.
Discussions have been held with the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) about joint work to deliver maternity rights information through apps and the project will also scope this work, producing a detailed proposal.
| Increase Public Understanding | Advance High Quality Thinking | Increase Access to Employment |
| User of Advice Organisations | ||
| Implications of Brexit | Legal Needs in Healthcare Settings | Influence the Online Court |
| Develop Robust Evidence Base | ||
| Understand Role of Technology | ||
| Law Reform, Policy and Regulation | ||
| Communications to Disseminate Learning | ||
