Talk

I think you are supposed to be given the chance to apply for the promotion even if it came up when you were on maternity leave. First thing to do is watch the time limit - you have 3mths to make a claim from the time you found out about the issue - you should also start by raising a grievance with your employer. Give it careful consideration tho - esp if you still want to work there and bear in mind tribunals are v. expensive!

it sounds rubbish - but if you liked your job and company beforehand and they liked you which it seems they did I would go the informal route before getting in legal stuff - while keeping an eye on time limits and getting imformed on your rights
Have you talked to your manager and HR; are you in a union?

Is this new person a man? If not then you can't really claim its sex discrimination.

In any case employers are under no obligation to advertise or allow existing employees to apply for positions as they arise unless its a redundancy situation and that person is on mat leave. So no you don't really have a case.

It sucks and I'd make sure HR are well aware that you're less than impressed but with regards to forcing them to change the decision as long as you come back to the same job etc then that is all the protection mat leave gives.

Gevling - are you sure as
I thought becuase some one is on maternity leave and misses out - and a man can't be on maternity leave makes it more likely to be sex discrimination -
anyway I found this - and working families might be a good place to contact

www.workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/employers/small-and-medium-businesses/5-common-maternity-mistakes-employers-make

Not staying in touch with a woman on maternity leave

You may think that you are not supposed to have any contact with a woman on maternity leave. Of course it is not a good idea to hassle someone who is about to give birth or who is at home coping with a new baby. On the other hand, you must keep a woman informed about things which would be useful for her to know. It could be sex discrimination if a woman loses out because her employer fails to tell her about developments in the workplace. It may help to talk to your employee about what sort of contact she would prefer (for example, email, phone calls, letters).

Grevling - it would be sex discrimination becuase the new role was advertised during the post holder's maternity leave and she wasn't given a chance to apply.

If it was advertised externally then the company could argue that the OP wasn't excluded. However if it was only advertised internally, and the OP had no way of accessing internal website/email etc, then this could be construed as discriminating aginst her.

You don't need a male comparator when the potential discrimination is pg/mat leave-related, and employers must ensure women on mat leave have equal access to promotion opportunities.

Assuming you didn't have access OP yes I do think you have good grounds for complaint. What outcome do you think you would like?

Ah, looks like I'm wrong. Oops

Hi
Thanks
I want an explanation but before I contat them i wanted to make sure I was in the right. If I'm not happy I will take it from there.
I'm waiting for part time hrs application back (4days a Week) due to the high cost of childcare.
The Promotion however would have covered nursery costs.
I'm also thinking of taking longer mat leve now after the wy I have been treated, I would rather be with my baby for the rest of the mat leave.

Also can they say he was more experienced and that's why he got instant promotion?

P. S it is a male

Well more experienced might be a reason for giving someone the job but it isn't a reason for excluding other potential interested candidates in the first place.