Under new proposals, the government plans to extend redundancy protection for pregnant women for up to six months after they return to work.

The government is also consulting on providing the same protection to parents who are returning from adoption leave or shared parental leave.

“It’s unacceptable that too many parents still encounter difficulties when returning to work,” Theresay May said, as reported by the BBC.

The move follows the publication of research by the Business Department which found that one in nine women were fired, faced redundancy after returning to work or were treated badly and effectively forced out of their job. The study concluded that around 54,000 women stand to lose their jobs each year after having a baby.

The government has launched a 10-week consultation on the proposals.