Some times I marvel at the posts that are out up !
What is your actual problem ?
- not getting leave ?
- not getting maternity benefit (are you pregnant ?)
- not getting confirmation ?
- all of the above ?
Are you being denied confirmation ? Or are you just not getting a confirmation letter ? Have you asked the owners for closing your probation period (there may be performance issues). Have you thought of what defence the company can out for not confirming you ?
Also, most small companies do not bother with paper work and instead concentrate just of their work. If your company is like that, have you checked whether you are confirmed or still on probation. Mostly, a chat with your boss helps resolve such things and you know clearly where you stand. Who knows, may be the matter just skipped his mind as he is used to have you working there and your status was never in question.
If you do not need maternity leave, then what is bothering you ? Let the others to whom it applies bother. You should concentrate on what is important to you.
You are not willing to leave the company though you feel it's a bad place to work. That's really funny. Do you think the company is going to smile and say hello when you file a complain ? Thy will terminate you or simply kick you out and you can't use the experience as they will give a bad review during future background checks.
As for the effectiveness of the legal proceeding, others have already given you a glimpse of what will happen.
I wonder why people are so eager to go for legal action for minor things. When u r at the start of your career, focus on learning and growing so u can get better and more paying jobs. When u r more experienced, the simply chose to work with companies that give you the environment that you want. If you can't get that type of work the probably it's because you are it capable of it. Focus on improving that.