Active discussions

Meet the Other Phone. A phone that grows with your child.

Meet the Other Phone.
A phone that grows with your child.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Talk
AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

Subtle ways we are discriminated against during Maternity Leave

53 replies

Lampshadelegs · 17/05/2017 16:45

My ML is coming to an end soon (sob) and on the whole and definitely compared to other countries, I have enjoyed fantastic pay and conditions.

Also my work place have been very accommodating about my request for flexi working upon my return so I know I'm very lucky.

BUT... just a couple of things that I have been expected to just put up with such as:
A) not knowing how much will be put in my bank account on pay day each month and having to spend hours back and forth ringing HR (who couldn't organise a Hen party in Newquay) trying to get a break down of how much I'll get each month so I can actually plan my life.
B) Now on returning, my boss being funny with me about expressing some confusion about the keeping in touch day policy vs how he has interpreted it and asking for some clarity on this. So again, I have no idea how much money I will have at the end of the month.

This, I see as discrimination because had I not had a baby I would know how much £ would be in my account and no one else in my work place is unsure about these fundamental things.

OP posts:
howthelightgetsin · 17/05/2017 18:27

It's hard to figure out how much you get paid but that's not discrimination. Obviously there is one rule for the first six months, a different rule for 6-9 and a different for 9-12. But then add in that if the baby comes early you might be paid for holiday you couldn't take, that likely your baby wasn't born on the 1st of each month so some months will have some of the 1-6months pay amount and some of the 6-9 bracket for example and then that you might get paid back some tax you have overpaid, it gets complicated.

cantgetnosleepda · 17/05/2017 18:29

No Christmas bonus :( It was only tiny - £150 ish - and supposed to reflect that year's work... but I worked half of each year and didn't get anything. 5 years later this is slightly irritating. (Only when I think about it though).

More significantly, the employer promised big flexibility on my return - and specifically reduced hours.... and so I was very helpful about doing my KIT days even though it wasn't really convenient as I had no childcare, so I worker hard to get ad hoc child cover...

Then suddenly there was zero of the promised flexibility when I went back. I quickly left.

Smurfy23 · 17/05/2017 18:30

Im about to go on ML. My company have given me a monthly breakdown of what I will be paid each month...I got it when I handed ny MATB1 in

Seeeeriously · 17/05/2017 18:34

This is super subtle.

Applied for promotion before starting maternity leave. Didn't get it.

Called three weeks before maternity leave ended. Would I be interested in role?

Nuanced, that one...

peppatax · 17/05/2017 18:34

and so I was very helpful about doing my KIT days even though it wasn't really convenient as I had no childcare, so I worker hard to get ad hoc child cover...

KIT days are there for your benefit, not your employer.

EggysMom · 17/05/2017 18:38

Not being invited to the Christmas party, despite ALL staff being invited. Not even an email to see if I'd be interested.

Probably not discrimination as your Contract wouldn't specify that you will receive £xxxxx salary plus a Christmas party. The party is most likely an extra that your employers arrange but that they could withdraw at any time without needing to consult. But IANAL.

GahBuggerit · 17/05/2017 18:38

Your examples are categorically not discrimination, nor necessarily due to poor HR management.

Maternity discrimination is things like not being told of internal vacancies, given low scoring on PRs because you aren't there, being excluded from work organised social activities, put in redundancy pools due to pregnancy, having your name removed from a company website. Having to ring payroll to double check where your payslip is or a bit of confusion over KIT days, not so much.

peppatax · 17/05/2017 18:42

Organisations have to be very careful that contacting employees on ML doesn't cause them a problem as there are a few people who would take any contact as 'harassment' as it's their time to be off work and don't want any communications so most businesses err on the side of caution and don't keep in touch with an employee unless they specifically request it. This was made clear to me by HR on my ML call and via follow up email.

GahBuggerit · 17/05/2017 18:53

Not quite correct, if it's 'reasonable contact' then it's fine and best practice. Should the employee then state afterwards they don't want further contact about anything whatsoever then yes their wishes should be respected, but even then I would want them to confirm in writing that they don't want to be kept updated with vacancies, work organised socials etc, just to cover the businesses arse

howthelightgetsin · 17/05/2017 19:03

I didn't get invited to the Christmas party but i wasn't offended by that (I might have been perplexed if they had invited me actually ... As in, I've just had a baby and they expect me to be able to go on a night out with work colleagues?!) so I guess everyone interprets everything differently. I was pretty much told there would be next to no contact from work (because some people want no contact) but if I initiated it there would be as much as I wanted. I know some companies are pretty shit about mat leave but I have no complaints.

BollardDodger · 17/05/2017 19:08

Can't you work your pay out yourself?
Exactly. I'm sure if the OP was being told how much she was getting and her employer was getting it wrong she'd know about it.

LedaP · 17/05/2017 19:08

gah the issue there is what is reasonable? I had a woman on mat leave scream at me because i called her (she had stated she would prefer us to call her and not email) to let her know about an internal job that had become available.

She felt we had been unreasonable in our contact. This was the second time we called her in 9 months. The first was 6 weeks after the birth to see how she was, made by her manager who she had worked with for 12 years.

She felt 2 calls were unreasonable and ee should have known she would not be interested in the job. I explained we had to let her know. But she still raised a grievance. Which found in my favour but stressful non the less

Mamimawr · 17/05/2017 19:13

Work tried to change my job completely while I was on ML. They kept saying since you're not here it makes sense to move you. Union got involved and it didn't happen in the end.

I was refused a mortgage because I was on ML even though I had permanent employment and had returned after previous ML period.

EZA15 · 17/05/2017 19:22

I got told not to bother going for a promotion as I wouldn't get - because you know, being pregnant and all it just didn't make good business sense! Prats

GahBuggerit · 17/05/2017 19:44

Well it is subjective, but keeping employees up to date with work matters, particulary those that may impact them, would absolutely not be considered as unreasonable by an ET, and as you say a greivance was found in your favour.

I usually agree with employees what contact they want, if any before ML. But if nothing is agreed employers should keep employees on ML up to date, not with every minor detail of course. That should include regular expected external work related activities. Unless the employee says otherwise at any point (I have no experience of this though)

Sprinklestar · 17/05/2017 19:58

I used to work for an airline, rhymes with Shittish Scareways. They tried to say I shouldn't be paid for bank holidays whilst on maternity leave. There was a shocking lack of knowledge about pregnancy and legal entitlements for such a large, supposedly family friendly employer. And then when I queried things, I was seen as a trouble maker. I didn't go back in the end, and now fly Virgin...

barfotoliv · 17/05/2017 20:57

When I was on maternity leave an internal promotion within my department was advertised that I would never have been interested in applying for. Two of my colleagues applied, included the one who I job shared with. The other colleague got the job, however, the one who I job shared with was then offered a new superior position in our own area as she had "performed so well in the interview". Managers knew I would never have applied for the original role, and I felt it was a underhand way of them promoting my single, childless colleague over me in our own area.

peppatax · 17/05/2017 21:05

barfotoliv what makes you think that she didn't genuinely deserve to be promoted?

Crumbs1 · 17/05/2017 21:32

I'm sure some companies discriminate but I think we treat our mothers to be very well. Actually we treat our parents with young children well; and those with elderly parents. I can't see why you wouldn't treat staff well - it increases loyalty and work outputs in the longer term.
I ask whether people want contact and what form they want contact to take. We all have fingers crossed it means them bringing the baby in to a team meeting. I go visit and am happily surrogate granny to a couple of staff's children. On return we discuss child care not to discriminate but to support. I know babies in nurseries mean days off with bugs, so talk openly about flexibility and juggling. I've never been taken for a ride. Staff can do compacted hours so, four days full time if it makes child care cheaper or easier. Happy for staff to bank their TOIL to allow more flexibility in school holidays. I'm convinced adult conversations and a commitment on both sides to making it work is best way. If a staff member missed an invitation to Christmas team event, then I'd expect the team member to ring and say they wanted to be asked.

Treysanatomy · 17/05/2017 21:53

When I was on maternity leave my department was 'restructured' and my role was being made redundant.

I found out on Facebook.

I then discovered that my maternity cover (who was male and on a fixed term contract) was moved into a (permanent) alternative role while I was formally put at risk of redundancy. That's definitely discrimination.

What happened next is a whole other thread!

barfotoliv · 17/05/2017 21:54

peppatax I'm not saying she didn't deserve to be promoted. She was a friend of mine and great at her job. But so was I, and I feel the way her promotion was created, by her applying for a job quite distinct from our area, which neither she or I were interested in, and then creating her new position on the back of this interview was deliberately done to avoid promoting me or even giving me the option to apply, and I feel it was no coincidence that this all happened while I was on ML.

feeona123 · 17/05/2017 22:43

No invites to Xmas parties
No invites to KIT days
No invites to away days
Being moved teams
Informal request for reduced hours refused- actually asked to increase hours!!
Career break might as well been refused
Only contact on their part was 'when you coming back'

I know non of these are discrimination but it's still shit.

Coming back after my first baby my old boss (who wasn't my boss on return) hardly spoke to me...literally ignored me. I did come back pregnant and he really must have hated me for it!! God knows why, I was nothing to do with him anymore! The only time he acknowledged my existence was on my final day and then it was very forced.
Didn't congratulate me or even like a pic of the new baby so I blocked him!

User06383 · 17/05/2017 22:57

Not inviting ML staff to the Christmas Party is discrimination. I wasn't invited because I was on maternity leave, if I had of been at work, I would have been invited. Everyone else in the company was invited. Therefore it is actually classed as discrimination.

Although I decided not to pursue this through the court of Human Rights this time 😂😂

GahBuggerit · 18/05/2017 06:09

Actually freeona a couple of those could be discrimination.

somedayyouwillfindme · 18/05/2017 06:15

@nInachu you can get your NI back if you've overpaid. It's a ball ache but if you really have overpaid you can get it back.