Cadzow Nursery School in Hamilton is celebrating after becoming Scotland’s first certified ‘mum-friendly workplace’.
Statistics show that very year across the UK, as many as 54,000 mums feel that they have to leave their jobs.
And the Hamilton nursery is spearheading an initiative by the Scottish Government to tackle maternity discrimination.
Leanne Kelly is the manager at Cadzow and said: “We try to accommodate the needs of mums returning to work as much as possible, as they bring life skills and life-learning that can be utilised in different ways.
“That’s why we were thrilled to be asked to take part in the pilot training.
“We already do a lot to support our staff during maternity and on their return to work, but the training was an opportunity to reinforce messages about maternity rights and why they’re so important.
“I would encourage other employers to sign up and do the same.
“Working with Outside the Box has provided us with valuable training in understanding the challenges women face returning to work after maternity leave.
“It has encouraged us to reflect on our current policies and procedures allowing us to see the strengths we already have in place supporting mothers in a predominantly female workforce, but also allowed us to identify any gaps to ensure our practice fully supports our current and future workforce, who are vital in providing the service we deliver.”
The training was created by community development charity Outside The Box and funded by the Scottish Government’s Workplace Equality Fund. It is led by community development advisor Jill Keegan, who developed the programme after facing maternity discrimination at a previous employer.
She said: “Mums Returning to Work has been developed to support employers and employees create a space for open discussion about what works. We want the website and training to open up the conversation and empower employers and employees to stand up for women’s rights in their equal access to the workplace.”
Employers can sign up at www.mumsreturningtowork.org.
