Danish employers call for law change to sack pregnant staff

employeesDanish bosses want a change in legislation to allow them to fire pregnant workers, a new survey reveals. Expectant women should not receive preferential treatment over other staff when it comes to getting the chop from their jobs, according to 70 percent of the managers and company chiefs interviewed in the KMPG study.

Danish law currently states that the onus is on the employer to prove that any sacking of a pregnant woman is not because of her condition. The recent case of a female bar tender who was fired two days after revealing she was pregnant has demonstrated that the sacking of expectant mothers is not acceptable. The woman received 92,000 kroner (USD 15,000) in compensation.

Kira Brondholt, of the KPMG audit and advisory service that carried out the study, said in an interview with broadcaster DR that the responses reveal the frustration of bosses who feel they have to give pregnant staff preferential treatment. She added, “In reality they would like to be able to drop this. They want to give special treatment to workers who add value to the company and not to employees who are pregnant.”

However, Mette Kindberg, vice president of commercial and clerical union HK, said scrapping the law would result in countless lay-offs of expectant mothers. According to the Copenhagen Post, the Confederation of Danish Employers (DA) also insisted that the law should not be tampered with.

“There have to be restrictive protective regulations. Employers have adapted to these rules and for that reason we don’t believe that any changes need to be made,” said DA consultant Lise Bardenfleth in an interview with DR.

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