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Original poster

Demoted after maternity leave

165 replies

Maisy313 · 03/11/2015 19:33

I've been back about 6 weeks, we are a small team in a big very well known corporation. Our boss is going on maternity leave, my colleague who was on the same level as me will be replacing her (all fine) but the person who was my junior and stepped up on my maternity leave to my position is now going to be deputy (promotion not an advertised position), the most junior person on the team is also being given a promotion. So all in all I'm the only person on the team not to get a pay rise or a promotion. All former appraisals have been great, never had any bad comments. Was told today by boss that they were just doing the best thing for the team. I want to hand in notice but literally can't afford to until I find something new, feel so sick. I was told that I was a valued member and they did appreciate me but that's just how things are.

OP posts:
DisappointedOne · 03/11/2015 23:18

The OP says the role wasn't advertised though.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 03/11/2015 23:20

DifferentOne I think you may have chopped the bottom off the Citizens Advice page because this appears further down:

Once you’ve given birth, it’s also unlawful to discriminate against you for one of these reasons:

you’re on maternity leave
you’ve been on maternity leave
you’ve tried to take maternity leave which you’re entitled to.

From here: www.citizensadvice.org.uk/discrimination/what-are-the-different-types-of-discrimination/pregnancy-and-maternity-discrimination/

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 03/11/2015 23:24

x-posted with Chaz about the bad timing thing. Which is totally key from what you have said op.

It's that old "but for" scenario that ETs are so found of using to prove discrimination. Not that anyone can afford to go to an ET these days but that's a whole other thread!

DisappointedOne · 03/11/2015 23:24

But there's a look it's period of protection, which is clear in what I posted. Otherwise we could claim discrimination forever!

rageagainsttheBIL · 03/11/2015 23:25

God this is depressing reading. As some have said many posters seem conditioned to accept poor practice and minimum obligation as standard and expected.

Personally I'd expect more from a company I'd dedicated years of hard work to than the absolute, verging-on-discriminatory, bare minimum.

This is a huge company people!

The fact your boss has screwed you as she goes on mat leave herself STINKS.

Sounds like discrimination to me tbh.

noddingoff · 03/11/2015 23:26

Mumof2 sums up the options depressingly perfectly.
Legal advice is expensive.
If you take them to a tribunal and win, you will have some money and they will hate you, if you lose you will have no money and they will hate you. And society will conclude that "these women just cry discrimination and try to bleed companies dry"
You can look for another job ("these women who have babies just lose interest and float off to other jobs, even after companies bend over backwards and offer them a whole day working from home")
You can just enjoy being junior to everyone and leave on time ("these women have babies and lose interest in the success of the company, they just go through the motions")

It's such a pity that the end result is a perception that babies are what causes women to lose interest, rather than the discouraging fact of relative demotion/non-consideration for advancement.

I must say I was quite naive - I thought that promotion would have to be discussed with all those eligible, rather than the individual having to have a track record of persistently asking about opportunities which do not yet exist.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 03/11/2015 23:26

No, you can't claim forever. Only if it is directly related to taking maternity leave.

Have a look at some recent cases of maternity discrimination. I think you'll find a large number cite things that happen once the claimant returns from maternity leave.

ChazsBrilliantAttitude · 03/11/2015 23:26

If she was ruled out of the promotion process because she was on ML or not told of promotion opportunities then she may well have a case. It's worth investigating further.

BrandNewIggi · 03/11/2015 23:27

Disappointedone -the OP hasn't stopped being a woman though, has she? So how has she lost that protection, based on sex? (Answer: she hasn't)

DisappointedOne · 03/11/2015 23:28

But the promoot

DisappointedOne · 03/11/2015 23:30

Bloody phone. The promoted colleagues are women though. So that hard to prove sex discrimination case just got a whole lot harder To prove.

Boosiehs · 03/11/2015 23:32

If the decisions to promote were made while OP was on mat leave the would extend the protected period.

DisappointedOne · 03/11/2015 23:33

She's given no indications that that is the case. It's feasibe

DisappointedOne · 03/11/2015 23:34

Feasible

Boosiehs · 03/11/2015 23:35

If she was only back for 3 weeks and it's a large organisation it's likely thy the process started a while ago. Eve in a small company it's hard to see promotions made in less than 3 weeks.

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 03/11/2015 23:37

? She's only been back very short time DisappointedOne.

If it had been 3 months I might think you have a point but it's 3 weeks!

MovingOnUpMovingOnOut · 03/11/2015 23:38

Sorry 6 weeks. But my point still stands.

Thatrabbittrickedme · 04/11/2015 00:21

OP I think there is clear unfair treatment here and also the gender of your colleagues is irrelevant,this is about being overlooked/demoted due to becoming a mother. (Shocked some posters are minimising Hmm)

I second pp advice to consult a lawyer ASAP. Obviously the ideal solution is to get a new job and then pursue your company legally for discrimination, but if this is not feasible you should be able, with legal support, to get appropriate redress and stay with your company (I say this on the understanding that you indicate you work for a large, respected organisation that presumably has a code of conduct/ HR policy that has been breached here).

I'm disgusted by the way you have been treated and rooting for you to fight back. Thanks

Want2bSupermum · 04/11/2015 01:19

Don't be shy to start legal proceedings against your employer. It worked out brilliantly for DH. He is now very respected for the way he managed his case against his employer regarding his pension and pay upon transfer. In his case his final salary pension was cancelled and they decided to not pay commission after he had moved over here as he was on a visa that restricted his employment. Well the first round at the courthouse here in the US backed DH 150% and when it quickly went to mediation. The lawyers on both sides were shocked that DH didn't ask for anything apart from compensation owed to him plus his employer paying his legal fees. He could have gotten much more but DH's goal was to for his employer to recognize the contract they wrote and executed.

I had no idea of this but once we started legal proceedings my father told me that he had to sue his employer at one point. That employer not only rehired him but promoted him to senior management. When he left to start his own company they funded him. He worked for a huge multinational. A lot of the time senior management are a whole lot more reasonable that those in middle management.

TiredButFineODFOJ · 04/11/2015 02:27

Hi OP,
I recommend you speak to Acas about this. No need to go all guns blazing to a lawyer straight off.
It does seem to be discrimination based on your pregnancy/maternity, mainly that you were excluded from any opportunity for promotion AND that your job was amended so you report to a previous subordinate because you had a baby
It matters not that the other team members are female. What is discrimination is the practice of the employer of excluding women on maternity from applying for promotion.
A good starting point might be to turn the tables on your employer next time you speak, and ask "assuming I wasn't off, how would this team shuffle have
Taken place?" Because really, what can they say? We woukd have held interviews? We would have spoken to you? They could do that when you're on maternity. They didn't do that because you were on maternity. It's clear discrimination however I'm not even sure they realise it, judging by this thread's responses.

Don't let the one day at home become a red herring. You asked for that and they agreed it on the basis of how your job and team was not how it is. They don't know you would be willing to revise your plans in different circumstances. I guess you asked for work from home because you are a parent who just had a baby. They have the option of rejecting your request. Not giving you anchance at promotion because you want to WFH is discrimination again, based on their practice

DisappointedOne · 04/11/2015 08:10

We don't know for sure that the OP wasn't considered, or that the reason she wasn't promoted had anything to do with being a female/mother/on maternity/just back from maternity. You've read a huge amount into and made assumptions about information that simply hasn't been given.

sparechange · 04/11/2015 08:47

What is discrimination is the practice of the employer of excluding women on maternity from applying for promotion.

What?! You must be reading a different thread to me because I haven't seen anything to suggest this. All I can see is that someone has been awarded 2 promotions in a year, and there is no evidence the last one was a job that was openly advertised.

How the hell do you make the leap to this being practice within the organisation?

An awful lot of people are projecting on this thread, most of it very unhelpfully

MrsLion · 04/11/2015 08:47

Sorry if I've missed this in another post but how long were you on maternity leave? In a lot of companies an awful lot can happen in a year. People prove themselves, achieve things, forge beneficial relationships, create good impressions. You, on the other hand are out of sight, out of mind. For a year.

I understand OP. Its shit. I went on maternity leave as the most senior person in a small team. When I came back, my replacement for the year had done good job. Things had got busy, the company grew, they'd hired new people and when I came back my juniors were promoted to the same level as me. My replacement was not my boss but was positioned as higher up than me, and was on track for promotion. In my case they actually changed my job title (not salary) and some of my roles to be of a lower status than previously
OP your situation, like mine, is unfair, and probably illegal. Like you, I could have challenged it.
But tbh if you still want or have to work there it's not advisable.
I was furious and upset but I just got my head down, worked my arse off and got back into it. I proved myself. Yes I know, I shouldn't have to.. After a few months it was like they 'remembered' me.
It worked out and it was me that received the promotion and now I am managing the team again.
Good luck- I sympathise.

Duckdeamon · 04/11/2015 09:29

Internal grievance procedure is the first stage.

IKnowIAmButWhatAreYou · 04/11/2015 09:42

Personally, for the good of the business I'd be appointing someone who had been in the office and was up to speed with what was going on as my deputy.

Why wouldn't you?