Feeling discriminated against

[maternitydiscrim]

So I announced to my boss I was pregnant as I needed a day off sick a few weeks ago during the early pregnancy days. Due the the nature of my job it meant lots of rescheduling around so they were put out. I admitted it was pregnancy related sickness and then came in the next day even though I still felt quite bad. Since then, I've had loads of issue with my boss micro-managing and making me feel really crap. I had an appraisal just a few months ago which was great and they couldn't be happier with me. Now he's announced to me, verbally, that he feels my performance is lacking and I'm not up to task. I asked for examples and he really didn't give me anything concrete or fair. It feels so incredibly unfair as I work my hardest and go beyond. It's all just started since I've announced my pregnancy so I believe this is pregnancy discrimination. I also think they're trying to manage me out so they can find a replacement as they realise I'll be on maternity leave soon. I've been really stressing about my antenatal appointments and have been arranging them so far so they are not in work hours, except one. He's now turned around and said the time off will be unpaid. Which I'm pretty sure is illegal and have said so. I'm giving plenty of notice and it's a reasonable request. What can I do?? It's causing me such anxiety that I'm constantly worrying about this and it's ruining the experience for me.

Have you formally notified HR of your pregnancy? If not I would start with that, and ask for a copy of their maternity policy if you don't have access to it already.

Citizens advice this might help.

Yes you are entitled to reasonable paid time off for antenatal appointments as long as they are recommended by a doctor or midwife (so you can't just decide you want to do a private scan and expect paid time off)

They can ask you to try and schedule them for outside working hours but have to accept that this isn't always possible.

I would contact ACAS for advice or hopefully a more knowledgeable mumsnetter than I will be able to help.

Ask him to put the performance related issues in writing, explaining specifically how they have become apparent since your recent positive appraisal.

Keep a close eye on this, and keep a written record of everything. It does sound ike pregnacy discrimination. You could contact Pregant then Screwed, a charity which can advise and help in exactly this situation.

get as much of the stuff he says in writing, ask him to confirm things via email when he says stuff, As for the unpaid thing yeah he cant do that, your protected when your pregnant and he needs to learn the laws.

Put everything he says to you in an email

'Just to recap our conversation, in our teams meeting/when you walked past my desk at 10am earlier you said I wouldn't be paid when attending appointment related to pregnancy. I shared that my understanding is this is illegal.'

He should start behaving better and if he doesn't then you have a case built up for employment tribunal. Have you been ther more than two year?

Is your boss the owner of the organisation? Do you have an HR department?

Definitely do this and include any paperwork that came out of your appraisal showing how happy they were with your performance then.
And also what another pp has recommended about emailing to confirm conversations you've had.

He'll either backtrack wildly in which case you'll have written evidence in your favour or you'll have it as evidence of dodgy behaviour.

Email something along the lines of:

You have recently stated to me that my performance is “lacking”. This has concerned me greatly, as no such thing was raised in my appraisal on x date, and I have continued to work diligently since. Please could you confirm in exactly which areas you believe I need to improve in?

Additionally, I have informed you I have an antenatal appointment on x. I typically try to arrange these outside of working hours but unfortunately this was not possible on this occasion. Although you stated I would have to take this unpaid, I am legally entitled to reasonable paid time off to attend antenatal appointments.

And then, following whatever daft reply he comes up with approach HR with your concerns, including evidence of your performance and the email chain.

Keep a written log (email yourself of any incidents so you have a time and date stamp) and try to keep as much communication in writing as possible, either emailing boss to confirm what has been said, or via Teams - in which case screenshot the messages and email them to yourself.

You can still take them to the ET for discrimination with less than two years' service.

OP, are you in a union? You need to contact them urgently. Either that or look up Pregnant Then Screwed.

Tbh I would be inclined to hit back quite hard and formalise this as a grievance. Look at ACAS for guidance on how to do this.

I work for a trade union, my spidey senses are up with your boss, it's obvious what he is trying to do and you need to try and nip it in the bud ASAP.

Time off for maternity appointments is paid. That's a legal right.

Print this out to show to him.

www.acas.org.uk/your-maternity-leave-pay-and-other-rights/time-off-for-pregnancy-appointments

Start keeping a note of everything.
Put everything in writing to him and ask him to confirm by return in writing.

If you have HR speak to them asap.
You can get free advice from ACAS too.

This is good advice

Thank you all for your responses! The thing I have to note is I have made a minor mistake at work a few weeks ago. It's a mistake I've apologised profusely for (as he repeatedly brings it up) I then went back and checked to ensure this mistake wouldnt again and put in a plan of action going forwards. He's basically using this as the only example of my 'poor performance' as he didn't have any other examples to give me. It feels unfair as mistakes such as mine has happened to different colleagues before and it's been shrugged off as human error.

In answer to some questions: they have been informed in writing about the pregnancy. I'm not part of a union unfortunately. Also there is no HR department. You literally have to go to the boss, who owns the company, with any issue or request. Which makes my situation more difficult.

@Thoughtful2355 you know it's interesting as whenever I put something in writing to him lately, he doesn't respond. And then will discuss it only when he sees me in person. I will insist though and follow things up in writing and ask for a response.

@PinkFrogss thanks for that! I'm definitely making a log of all conversations recorded with times and dates and keeping everything he's said to me in writing also saved.

I have told him in writing it's illegal to force me to take unpaid leave for antenatal care with links provided. Funnily enough, he didn't respond. I'll also be giving pregnant then screwed a call.

Yeah I would tread very lightly with this ...

I would also lodge a case with ACAS.

ACAS are the people to ring to notify and for free advice about this. ACAS is the statutory body that arbitrates in major disputes between employers and employees and sometimes in individual cases, and writes guidance and codes of practice for the application of the law in the workplace. They also have a website with information about your rights during pregnancy and maternity.

But do ring them with details of your complaint and don't forget to name the company. For all you know, they may have received reports about that employer before. Every complaint adds to their knowledge of how the law is working in practice for women who are pregnant or on maternity leave or returning, and flags where there may be a need to intervene.

@Abitofalark thank you, I will give them a call tomorrow!

ACAS don’t really work like that, and I’d be surprised if they were at liberty to confirm any previous correspondence they’ve had with others regarding your organisation.

They are great to call for advice (I would also recommend Maternity Action and Pregnant then Screwed) but it’s not really a “log it with them for future” kind of thing. They will offer advice generally about the law and advise on some possible next steps.

In most cases it’s recommended to try and resolve internally first.

Yes it is.

You contact them with an employment dispute. There are strict time frames that that disputes can be heard in court.

So you log it with ACAS and get a reference. They provide advice. They don't need to inform your employer.

OP I would be doing this! By the fact that you are sending emails suggests you are building a case.... relationship is breaking down.

@TomorrowToday

I'm afraid that the advice you are giving is very premature.

Whilst it may come to this of things go wrong for OP - there are a great many things that need to happen before OP May have to take these steps.

At this point ACAS can provide her with advice on how to resolve the situation. Which would be the best outcome.

I don’t believe it’s quite reached that point yet. OP has 6 months to bring a claim for discrimination in the unfortunate event it comes to that. Keeping a written log of events in regards to one manager does not equal a breakdown in her relationship with her employer.

For the moment she will be encouraged to resolve internally, and advised on how best to do this.

No one has said that ACAS would 'confirm any previous correspondence they've had with others regarding your organisation'. Don't make things up.

They do receive and record information, complaints and requests for advice, from both employees and employers, from which they become informed of standards on the ground, instances of how the law is working or not working and where problems arise, which they may address in a variety of ways within their general remit to promote good employment practice and relations in the workplace, and develop guidance on compliance and practice, including on pregnancy and maternity rights.

Yes apologies, I misread the part about previous reports.

Yes it hasn't quite escalated just yet. I'm hoping we can sort this internally. Unfortunately this isn't an issue with a manager but with the boss who is the company owner, who is essentially managing all the staff. We don't have a manager right now as the previous one has not been replaced. I don't believe they intend to. We have a massive turn over of staff- which should have been a massive red flag! All issues go through him, we don't even have a HR department. For the time being, I'll make a record of any off behaviour towards me with dates and times. I will record our conversations. I will insist that anything he says is put in writing and if it's not, will put it in writing myself and ask him to confirm or elaborate. Essentially I'm hoping just to keep my head down and carry on until I'm off on maternity leave. Will try and book my appointments in my own time, which I've already been mostly doing. The ones I can't, I will request. And he will need to accept as it's my right. Unfortunately I have a medical condition which means more frequent monitoring so more appointments than the stand pregnancy! But I will get advice from ACAS, PTS etc how I should be handling this and what to do if the situation develops. Thanks all for your insights, it's been helpful.