To not understand why people recommend Pregnant Then Screwed?

[firsttimepregnanthelp]

I believe I am experiencing unfair treatment at work due to pregnancy related sickness so called PTS as people are always recommending it but they were useless?! A very short phone call with generic, vague advice. Is it just me? Same with ACAS - all very vague. There seems to be no support.

ACAS were fantastic for me. I took a previous employer to an employment tribunal and they basically told them they hadn’t got a hope in hell of success in court and advised them to pay up. I got the money inside a week. HR departments hate them.

Those of you who are asking what I was expecting- i was hoping for someone to take time to understand my situation and advice accordingly rather than just giving general information that I could have googled.

@catgirl1976thanks so much, I will message you later if that's ok.

I hadn't heard of Maternity Action, I will give them a try

Same they were useless when l contacted them. I gave up in the end as they weren’t listening, their communication was terrible and they didn’t seem to know what they were doing

I'm an in house lawyer and support HR with employee issues if needed.

This rings true to me in that ACAS are good if the case is very clear. I've also found them useful from the employer side in this way - they will give employees a pretty robust "no chance" advice but again only if very slam dunk.

I think unions can be a force for good in terms of collective bargaining but I've never found one to be useful to an employee in a disciplinary or similar.

This. Everyone should be joining a union and using them.

The only time they really seem to fail is to represent anyone with GC views who is, say, complaining about a unisex toilet or something.

Otherwise they are good at giving solid legal advice and help. For those not in the know: you don't have to tell your employer you are in a union (unless you are in a workplace with a recognised union etc - but then you would know if you were working in a place like that)

Of course - ping me a message later.

HR departments do not hate ACAS.

Yeah they really don't - they'd much rather deal with ACAS than a lawyer. My interactions with ACAS have all been fine, they seem to give reasonable basic advice and sort out the conciliation certificate.

Exactly, I’ve never heard this - if it’s capable of resolving on a reasonable basis, a decent HRBP will do it. If not, then ACAS is just a necessary step on the road to Tribunal, about which HR and Legal is largely ambivalent. It’s actually quite rare that employees put their own skin in the game by instructing a solicitor, at which point I will prick my ears up.

PTS has always struck me as a gobby version of MA without the rigour or experience.

I've been in a few unions and did not find them very helpful, at all. I've also sat on the other side of the table from union reps and quality varied wildly. They can be quite expensive for what you get.

This. Not a chance would I work without union. I have never regretted it. It really concentrates your employers mind when they are trying to fuck you over and the rep has a word.

I did this and paid my dues, believed the hype. When I was demoted for being pregnant my Union rep, who was mates with my Manager through the 'old boys network' handed him my file, helped him forge documents and basically assisted the manager in his bullying. I managed to secure evidence of all of this and got a huge payout in 'hush money' but my experience of Unison was extreme misogyny, old boys network and gleeful email exchanges about "teaching stuck up bitches" they "are not and never will be" equal. When you look at most Unions behaviour in general it is not supportive of women at all imo. Sorry to be negative but I think it's important to be honest.

Aren’t they a free to call organisation? I didn’t realise they took on specific cases, I thought they were more of a general advice sort of place.

If you want actual bona fide advice, you’d be better off posting on the Legal board rather than in AIBU.

There’s not a union for every type of job! OP’s best course of action is ACAS!

@WappityWabbiti did but it didn't post - it says mumsnet is taking a look at it but that was a couple of days ago

Contact pregnancy sickness support they have been absolutely brilliant with me x

Not only do they message me weekly for check ins and also did check in on me daily when I was going through really rough HG. They gave me legal advice too x

Then you should've chosen a different rep.

You don't automatically have to use one you work with, as it can often be seen as a conflict of interest.

Only join a union if you don't mind paying money to an organisation to campaign to take away your lawful rights:

https://congress.tuc.org.uk/motion-07-supreme-court-ruling-active-support-for-trans-and-non-binary-workers/#sthash.5GYFiPNB.dpbs

The unions don't give a shit about women

I paid about a gtand to see a Barrister and did my own research when I was being made redundant and upon return from mat leave. Depending on if you are going after a claim thrn it can be financiallg worth while to seek proper legal advice. It was for me. But I honestly did the leg work myself and settled out of court.
I honestly would try to get a good understanding of the legal side of what your issue is yourself as noone will advocate for you better than yourself. You can then speak to acas, etc and challenge them.
Don't be passive and accept what you are told.
I went to town in my employer and settled for a years salary.

@SaffronsMadAboutMe so it was my fault? 😂😂😂This is how pro-Union people always are. Deflect, defend, avoid, attack.

No, he should have represented me and not lied and behaved in a way that led a public sector organisation to make a huge payout at the tax payers expense. I didn't work with this man, I was not informed of any conflict. I called and asked for advice and was told he was the best person for the job, he called me and we had an appointment and then he went to my boss, who I had no idea he even knew, behind my back.

As a former employment tribunal adjudicator, I would never recommend joining a union.

This is how pro-Union people always are.

There are over 6 million union members in the UK so I'd say your statement reflects a little strangely on you.

It didn't work out for you and that's a shame but there are plenty of others for whom it has.

🤣🤣🤣 dh and I tried our different unions through company mergers and they were utterly useless. Never again.