Pregnant women are five times more likely to be sacked, harassed or sidelined at work since the start of the recession, the TUC revealed yesterday.

In a new report it said that, despite legislation, as many as 9,000 expectant mothers had found it necessary to take their bosses to a tribunal in the last five years.

“The law might have changed 40 years ago but the way many employers behave when they discover an employee is pregnant suggests they are stuck in a 1970s time warp — back to an age when starting a family meant the end of paid work for women,” said TUC general secretary Frances O’Grady.

“This report shows that for many women what should be one of the happiest times of their lives soon becomes full of anxiety and stress — one where bullying, harassment and ill-treatment in the workplace is an unacceptably common experience.”

The TUC chief suggested that the statutory pay for parental leave should be raised “to allow dads to play a greater role in the care of their children and mothers a greater chance to progress at work.”

A spokesman for the Department for Business, Innovation & Skills said in reply that shared parental leave — to be introduced next April — would even the field for working mums and dads.

“This will help to stamp out outdated stereotypes about who should do what and let parents get on with making their own decisions about how they manage work and family life,” he said.

The TUC believes a rise in salary is vital for bringing further equality as part-time female workers make a third less an hour than full-time men, and two in five of them make less than the living wage.