Pregnant Then Screwed, Scotland

We are thrilled to finally launch the Scottish arm of Pregnant Then Screwed. Although we’ve held protests and events in Scotland, until now we haven’t had the capacity to design and deliver a Scotland strategy that we know will make a real tangible difference to Scottish mothers and their families. Thanks to the brilliant folk at Cattanach we now have that opportunity and we cannot wait to get started.

➡️Meet our Scotland lead, Carole Erskine , and if you’d like to get in touch with Carole about our work in Scotland please contact [email protected].

If you are a journalist looking to speak to Pregnant Then Screwed please contact [email protected] or call 07756525004.

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The situation in Scotland

Scotland is in a unique position within the UK when it comes to tackling the motherhood penalty. We want politicians to take action on this, but in Scotland that means lobbying our MPs and MSPs. The Scottish Parliament has responsibility for many areas, including early learning and childcare which is devolved. Meanwhile, other decisions that are made at Westminster have an impact on Scottish mothers and their family. Scotland can and does go its own way in many areas, but there is still a huge amount of frustration amongst Scottish mothers that things could and should be better.

Our strategy for Scotland

Our strategy for Scotland will focus on three goals

1. To campaign for an affordable, accessible, high quality Early learning and childcare system in Scotland

We know there are huge benefits for families and the economy if ELC is affordable, accessible and high quality. Sadly, Scotland is failing to deliver such a system. We will therefore be campaigning for:

Increased investment in ELC
Better pay and working conditions for the ELC workforce
An investment in training for the workforce to ensure qualifications in early learning and childcare are affordable and of a high quality
A reduction in the cost to access ELC

2. To campaign for a better parental leave system for all Scottish parents

Parental leave is not a devolved issue. Maternity and paternity leave and pay are reserved and the responsibility of Westminster. Scotland is, therefore, no different to the rest of the UK in how much new mums and dads receive as a statutory entitlement. Pregnant Then Screwed are campaigning for:

Paternity leave to increase to 6 weeks leave at 90% of salary
Maternity leave to increase to 12 weeks leave at 90% of salary
Shared parental leave and pay to increase to the national living wage

Read our report on the economic and health benefits of increasing paternity leave to 6 weeks at 90% of salary

Sign our petition for 6 weeks paternity leave paid at 90% of salary

3. To deliver support and advice services for pregnant women and mothers in Scotland who are experiencing discrimination and disadvantage at work

We currently deliver 6 different types of free advice and support to 12,000 mothers a year in England. They include:

An advice line staffed by HR professionals who can support with non-legal work-based issues.
A legal advice line staffed by specialist employment lawyers
A mentor programme to support those taking legal action against an employer
A mental health support service in partnership with MIND
A benefits advice service
A coaching service for mothers who are struggling to get their mojo back after discrimination and need support in working out their career goals

Our long-term goal is to establish these services in Scotland and we are in the process of trying to secure funding to do so.

What can you do?

If we are to succeed, we need as many people in Scotland to join our movement as possible. Our work in England has demonstrated to Westminster the democratic power of parents when we come together to demand change. We know that with your support, we can do the same in Scotland. We hear you when you say that you’re drowning out there without access to affordable ELC, and an antiquated parental leave system that doesn’t support both parents to spend time with their new baby. We know that pregnancy and maternity discrimination is rife and that you need mental health support, legal support and mentorship if you are to challenge this behaviour.

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Learn more about Childcare in Scotland

Find out more about the ELC system, the need for our work, devolved vs reserved benefits, maternity leave, paternity leave and childcare issues below