Pregnant & Protected

Protecting Working Parents, Empowering Parenthood.

Your go-to solicitors for pregnancy and maternity rights in the workplace.

At Pregnant and Protected, we offer up to one hour of free legal advice for people who believe that they are being discriminated against or are having issues at work.

Our friendly staff will then set up a call, at your convenience, with one of our team of solicitors. On that call, we will chat through the issues you are facing and provide you with confidential, tailored advice. You can ask us anything and we will ensure that you leave the call understanding your rights and next steps.

Your appointment is completely confidential, and the average call lasts about 20 minutes but you can have up to an hour of free advice with us.

If you decide that you want to proceed with a case, then this will be charged. The costs will be explained in full before proceeding.

A woman holding a baby close for a tender moment, with the baby's face resting on her chest and looking to the side.

  • I just wanted to say a big thank you for all your help with my settlement case.  From our first conversation, I felt listened to and confident that you had my interests at the forefront of all the negotiations. I had no doubt you were the best person for the job. You helped me so much during a challenging situation. Thank you so much.

  • Thank you for all of your hard work getting the separation agreement turned around quickly, at such a crazy time of year. It was a challenging situation to be faced with while so heavily pregnant and your expertise and proactive way of working was really the support that I needed, so thank you.

  • Thank you so much for your continued support and for updating me on the agreement. I truly appreciate all the effort you’ve put into getting this resolved. Your guidance and persistence throughout this process have made a difficult situation much easier for me, and I can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve done.

  • I just wanted to thank you for all your help with this matter - I'm very grateful for your thorough advice and found you a pleasure to work with, particularly for a sensitive matter.

  • I can finally move forward and put this behind me. Today is a good day! As always, my gratitude to you is HUGE as you have really been such a support and fantastic through the whole escapade. Onwards and upwards now

  • Thank you so much for everything you have done, i doubted myself at so many points through this process, and was ready to give up numerous times, but you gave me the confidence to keep going. So thankyou i will be forever grateful. Also a huge thankyou to PTS for putting me in touch with you! Amazing charity

Read all of our Testimonials

How can we help?

At Pregnant and Protected we are a specialist pregnancy and maternity rights team of solicitors who are experienced in advising and representing clients on all issues that may arise in this area, from redundancy situations whilst on maternity leave to issues with pay and holiday entitlement.

Our legal experts understand the difficulties faced by working parents, from dealing with formal flexible working requests to fit around childcare to advising on their rights whilst expecting their child and returning from leave, together with all that may crop up in between.

Our employment solicitors are genuine experts in this field and our unique positioning means we understand cases from both an individual and business perspective. Our team is highly skilled in representing individuals on family-friendly rights, as well as handling cases on behalf of employers – to educate and advise them on best practice to ensure working parents are treated fairly.

The team is led by Danielle Ayres who is a specialist discrimination solicitor and is well known for her work in championing women’s employment rights. She has become one of the go-to solicitors given her experience in advising and representing both individuals and businesses with pregnancy and maternity-related issues and flexible working requests. Danielle works closely with specialist organisations such as Pregnant Then Screwed, who help working women challenge unfair treatment as a result of their pregnancy and/or maternity leave, offering legal advice to people who reach out to Pregnant then Screwed, which has helped thousands of working parents since Danielle became involved, over 12 years ago.

As a result of her work, Danielle has been involved in a large number of Tribunal cases in this area, acting on behalf of both Claimant and Respondent clients.  She has also been able to successfully negotiate settlement agreements, securing some large financial settlements as well as apologies on her clients’ behalf. Danielle is regularly called upon by various news and radio shows, including the BBC, and is an active contributor to issues in this complex area of law.

  • A woman with long red hair sitting on a bed, talking on a mobile phone and using a laptop, in a well-lit bedroom with a large window and a plant in the background.

    Understanding your rights

    Understanding your legal rights is the first step to protecting yourself.  We offer a free one our call to provide you with thorough and confidential advice on your situation.  We also have a Useful Information section, where you can find information and videos covering the different types of cases that we see and key information around pay, benefits and leave.

  • A woman sitting at a desk in a control room, operating audio or video equipment with multiple monitors and control panels.

    Expert Support

    Our team consists of solicitors who have supported thousands of working parents with issues that have arisen at work . Together we can chat through the issue you are facing and provide you with solid, professional advice so that you understand your rights and next steps.

  • Woman holding a sign that reads "Time for Change" during daylight.

    Employer Support

    We don’t just help individuals – we’re working to change the system. We are also on hand to assist employers to improve policies and practices, and we actively campaign for stronger protections for all working parents. When you come to us, you’re joining a growing movement that believes parenthood should be protected - not penalised. Find out more.


If something doesn’t feel right at work or you just need someone to listen we offer one hour’s worth of free advice which can help you understand your position and next steps.  We’re here for you whether you’re pregnant, on leave, or navigating your return. Our experienced team will help you understand your rights and what to do next.

Ready to Talk?

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