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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:
rabb1t08 · 20/06/2019 21:21

According to Citizens advice -

"There are some things your employer must tell you about:

any chances for promotion - they should tell you at the same time as everyone else and give you just as much chance to apply"

I work for a local authority and when one of my colleagues was on maternity leave she was contacted when a promotion came up to come in for an interview. And yes this absolutely is discrimination, as a man wouldn't be on maternity leave!

lljkk · 20/06/2019 21:22

So what DID OP arrange about which types of things should be sent to her email address? I guess she wants the person who was supposed to email her to lose their job. Why, there's a solution. OP can swap jobs with offending manager who didn't tell her about the vacancy. That might placate some discrimination legislation somewhere.

crispysausagerolls · 20/06/2019 21:23

EarlGreyOfTwinings

Completely agree with you.

lottiegarbanzo · 20/06/2019 21:26

You're right, they're wrong, they messed up and they owe you. See HR, talk to a union. You can't be given the job now but you could take a case against them and gain compensation. They'd undertaken to keep you informed. They discriminated against you by failing to do that.

Ruminthebath · 20/06/2019 21:27

In your position I’d call ACAS, OP, for some advice. I’m pretty certain that (despite the PPs who seem to think you wouldn’t have got the job anyway so shrug off the fact you’ve been directly discriminated against) this is unlawful.

On maternity leave, you shouldn’t miss out on payrises, promotions or other opportunities you’d have had if you hadn’t been on mat leave. It’s not just morally obvious, it’s legislated. If they’d told you, and you’d applied but not got the job and suspected it was due to mat leave you’d be on tricky ground proving it. But as it is, the only reason you’ve missed out on that opportunity is because you’ve been on mat leave (which isn’t the same as a sabbatical in terms of protected characteristics) and therefore you’ve got a very strong sex discrimination case.

Indecisivelurcher · 20/06/2019 21:28

Same thing happened to me op, so I know how you feel.

Zuma76 · 20/06/2019 21:28

Blimey there are some shocking views on here. God forbid, a women thinks she can still have a career and promotional opportunities and have babies. Seriously some of the pp need to move from the 1950’s. As an employment lawyer I would advise you to raise this in writing with your manager cc’d into HR as a grievance. This isn’t about money it it about recognising that the only reason you have missed out on a promotional opportunity was because of your maternity leave. They should re- do the process. They won’t but they should

coffeeforone · 20/06/2019 21:30

It's wrong that you aren't able to access your work emails if you want to keep in touch and stay informed. I'd raise this with HR. You should have access to your emails if you wish.

Ruminthebath · 20/06/2019 21:31

And, Jesus, the posters who’re saying ‘what’s to be done now, water under the bridge’ - if that opportunity only comes up every 15 years (as OP says) and she’s missed out on it then I’d be fighting tooth and nail for HR to compensate her for the lack of career progression and earnings as a result. If we don’t push back against blatant open and shut discrimination then how the fuck are we EVER going to close the enter pay gap??

clucky3 · 20/06/2019 21:32

You are not being at all unreasonable OP, I'm quite shocked at some of the attitudes here. I'm a senior manager in the civil service. When one of my team goes on maternity leave I forward all job advertisements on to their personal email addresses. You should definitely talk to HR. This is discrimination.

Original poster
curtainsy · 20/06/2019 21:32

@indecisivelurcher sorry that this happened to you too, did you do anything about it?

OP posts:
goodwinter · 20/06/2019 21:33

I can't believe how many people on here are defending the LA for indirectly discriminating against OP while on maternity leave, and blaming her for not checking her work emails.

Debenhamshandtowel · 20/06/2019 21:34

I shocked by some of the responses on here.

I’m surprised your line-manager didn’t contact you. I’m also suprised that non of your colleagues told you about the job either. They shouldn’t have had to but it’s something I do for my colleagues;

“Hi @@@ I hope you and the family are well. Just to let you know that Fred’s job will be advertised soon. I expect Bina will email you the deatails but it’s good to prepare.”

If you are with the union contact them to let them know what’s happened. Also contact HR. I can’t imagine anyone losing their job. I would expect more robust procedures to be put in place for the future.

I’m not sure what the solution is but contacting everyone, politely and by email, would be a start.

Then look at the industrial tribunal page on the gov.uk website. There are time limits to making a claim. This might not be something you wish to, or can, pursue, but it’s god to have knowledge.

Debenhamshandtowel · 20/06/2019 21:34

Good!

Ringdonna · 20/06/2019 21:36

That’s life.

starzig · 20/06/2019 21:42

To be honest, if I took a year out (for whatever reason) I really wouldn't expect to be in line for a promotion as soon as I returned. I also wouldn't expect work to inform me of such things when I am not there. I would expect to wait until next promotion round

Teatimeted · 20/06/2019 21:44

Ok - imagine this isn't a promotion (which was IN HER TEAM) imagine this was a whole company restructure, mass redundancies and a whole new management team. No one informs you and after nine months you return to a completely different company, most of your colleagues have left and you've got a new manager.

Do you still think she doesn't deserve to be informed?

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 20/06/2019 21:44

Nobody on Mat Leave should be expected to check work emails. Heck, many people wouldn't even have access to their work emails. I certainly don't outside of the office.

Organisations must ensure you are fully aware of these job opportunities. The onus is on them to ensure you receive the same info at the same time as those in the office. Sending them to an email account you cannot and shouldn't be checking is not sufficient.

Original poster
curtainsy · 20/06/2019 21:45

starzig: To be honest, if I took a year out (for whatever reason) I really wouldn't expect to be in line for a promotion as soon as I returned. I also wouldn't expect work to inform me of such things when I am not there. I would expect to wait until next promotion round"

@starzig that's unfortunate that you have such little belief in yourself and your abilities.

OP posts:
BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 20/06/2019 21:46

To be honest, if I took a year out (for whatever reason) I really wouldn't expect to be in line for a promotion as soon as I returned

Well then you don't have a very high opinion of yourself.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 20/06/2019 21:46

Haha xpost

LonelyGir1 · 20/06/2019 21:46

What would you have liked to happen?

Rightly or wrongly it sounds like no-one thought of you as being the right person for the role.

Nicknacky · 20/06/2019 21:48

star Good for you that you wouldn’t go for promotion. That’s your choice.

But that doesn’t change the fact that the op should have been made aware of the vacancy. She has missed out because of her pregnancy and that’s wrong.

YourSarcasmIsDripping · 20/06/2019 21:49

I wholeheartedly agree that OP should've been given the opportunity to APPLY for the job. Since they said they would and had the means to inform her,they have dropped the ball . I would complain about that .

However OP wants "the job", there's no way in hell to know if she would've got the job or not. She seems to assume it would've been hers as long as she knew about it. Maybe that's the case and she really would've been the most qualified and experienced out of 5 people. In which case they fucked themselves up too.

BernadetteRostankowskiWolowitz · 20/06/2019 21:49

Rightly or wrongly it sounds like no-one thought of you as being the right person for the role

This is a massive presumption. It's also possible the job was passed to, say, HR to advertise. Management presumed it was sufficiently sent out to all staff. OP "didn't apply" in their eyes. Not that she wasn't informed.