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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

To feel annoyed that I missed out on a job because I am a woman

320 replies

curtainsy · 20/06/2019 19:28

I've just started back at work after 12 months off for maternity leave. Before I went off I had a meeting with HR and my manager to go over my rights etc. One of the things HR said was that they have to keep me informed of job vacancies.

I have now started back and found out that a promotion came up within my team 2 months ago. Four colleagues applied and one of them was appointed. AIBU to be absolutely raging that I wasn't informed?
I don't actually know what to do about it as it's all been done now and he is in this new job so I feel like complaining is pointless.

OP posts:
notacooldad · 26/06/2019 15:52

Here is the paragraph that says the employer has to keep in touch.

To feel annoyed that I missed out on a job because I am a woman
FundamentallyTired · 26/06/2019 15:56

This potentially sex discrimination. They have to keep you informed of opportunities you are eligible for. And not via work email, unless you state that.

Are you in a union? I would contact the regional office and say you feel you have been subject to sex discrimination.

PumpkinPieAlibi · 26/06/2019 15:56

All this talk of ‘legal obligation’ were does it say they have to send possible job opportunity emails to personal accounts?

I suppose this is my question also, Manclife1. I completely agree that employers have a legal obligation to keep persons on maternity leave informed of opportunities but by sending an internal vacancy notice, they may have thought that they were doing so. The question is - is this is a reasonable assumption?

OP, did your employer agree as to HOW they would keep you informed prior to you proceeding on maternity leave?

PumpkinPieAlibi · 26/06/2019 16:03

@notacooldad - "Right back at the star of the thread the OP and her manager made an agreement they would keep in touch by email and even did a test run.

I think that might have been a different poster. OP mentioned that her employer agreed to keep her in the loop but didn't specify how and there was no mention made of personal email. I'm curious as to HOW they agreed to keep her informed.

notacooldad · 26/06/2019 16:03

pumpkinpiealibi
The OP said the following :
curtainsy ( the op)

HR and management have my personal email before I went off on maternity leave. I emailed back and forth from it a few times to ensure they had it. I check personal email a few times a day as it's linked to my phone so if they had emailed me I would have received it. I was just forgotten about

Brefugee · 26/06/2019 16:14

I'm not in the Union so they refused to help

Join a union. Always be in a union. Keep up with your subs. There is no reason why a union should help anyone who isn't a member.

As a union member I'd be bloody furious if they offered the same help to non-members as they do to members. No matter how right and just the cause.

CassianAndor · 26/06/2019 16:27

you can join the union at the moment you need help and they will help from that point so it's never too later.

Brefugee · 26/06/2019 16:42

I don't think so - like legal insurance etc, the real help only kicks in after a couple (3?) of months. Otherwise every Tom, Dick and Harriet who suddenly needed expensive legal help would join when it happened and leave as soon as it had finished.

Although I know some unions do give information and advice, free, gratis and for nothing from signing up day. But not costly legal help.

ClaryFray · 26/06/2019 16:49

Keeping in touch is a two way street. You can. Expect a member of staff to seperatly and personally notify every person in your office on lea e.

Also the password will ask to be changed based on where you log in. If its due to change and you log in from home, it'll let you change it there.

I'm sorry your at fault here. Live and learn. Keep in touch, you could have set it up on your phone or home pc. It's not a sex thing. They didnt not email you it. I suspect there is a copy of the job ad in your inbox. That's there defence.

notacooldad · 26/06/2019 16:54

Keeping in touch is a two way street. You can. Expect a member of staff to seperatly and personally notify every person in your office on lea e.
People on leave come back after a week or two and are in the loop with what's going on in the staff team and what jobs are going.
It's unlikely that a manager will have dozens of people off in their team on maternity leave at anyone to remember to send a vacancy listing to.

FundamentallyTired · 26/06/2019 16:59

Legally keeping in touch isn't a two way street. It's bullshit like this that keeps the gender pay gap and inequality going.

It I'd the employers responsibility to ask about how to keep in touch, otherwise they need to choose a way they can be sure of, eg post.

Benes · 26/06/2019 17:03

Clary the op is not at fault here.
Her organisation is.

Hands down one of the most depressing threads I've read.

Women - know your rights!!!!

MinisterforCheekyFuckery · 26/06/2019 17:11

The internalised misogyny on this thread is off the fucking charts. How utterly depressing.

Can you imagine a man being labelled as "entitled" by other men simply for expecting his employer to do something they specifically said they would do and that they are legally obliged to do then complaining if they failed to honour that agreement and he missed out on the opportunity for promotion as a result?

notacooldad · 26/06/2019 17:13

It's unlikely that a manager will have dozens of people off in their team on maternity leave at anyone to
A no sense typo! ...maternity leave at any one time!!

EarlGreyOfTwinings · 26/06/2019 18:01

The internalised misogyny on this thread is off the fucking charts.

as the exact same arguments would apply exactly to men on paternity leave, or even men on sabbatical, not sure why you need to call it a misogynistic issue Confused

It really is not, and it weakens the cases that really are.

notacooldad · 26/06/2019 18:11

EarlGreyOfTwinings
Why do you seem keen on maternity rights being trampled on?
Ok you might not like this particular aspect of the law but if your employer started picking and choosing which bits of the law they were going to abide to and disregard others how would you feel? What if the law they decided to ignore negatively impacted on you. What if it was your future and finances that was impacted on.? Would you just shrug and thing people who moaned were just being entitled?

StealthPolarBear · 26/06/2019 18:24

PumpkinPieAlibi the op said pretty much exactly that!

Nicknacky · 26/06/2019 18:31

Not all employees can access work emails from home anyway. I can’t.

So all these posters who believe it is up to the employee to check emails would be happy to go into the workplace weekly while on maternity leave on the off chance a email has been sent about vacancies?

Or would you prefer you are notified as agreed?

notacooldad · 26/06/2019 18:39

Has anyone e got a new perspective to add. We are just going around in circles.

Even the Op cant be arsed by the looks of things because it apoears there hasn't been a post from her since last Friday!

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