The Work and Families Act may actually be impairing the career prospects of British women, the head of the Equalities and Human Rights Commission has argued.

With plans currently being considered to extend the rights of parents to allow them to request flexible working hours until their oldest child was 16, Nicola Brewer has warned that many employers could be deterred from taking on female candidates due to the maternity legislation in place.

Notably, she cited the case of Sir Alan Sugar, entrepreneur and star of TV's The Apprentice, who claimed that many businesses simply refuse to take on women of child-baring age.

"There has been a sea change on maternity leave and flexible work and we welcome that. But the effect has been to reinforce some traditional patterns," she told the Times.

"We have come a long way but after winning all these gains it is worth asking: are we still on the right track? The thing I worry about is that the current legislation and regulations have had the unintended consequence of making women a less attractive prospect to employers."

Presently, women are permitted one year's maternity leave from their jobs for each child they have.