Job Offer withdrawn after informing employer that I am pregnant.

[Char1997]

Hi all,

I originally posted this on as a pregnancy thread. As the situation has evolved I have been advised to post on here. I was offered a job yesterday afternoon and although I know I was under no obligation to inform them, I told the employer that I was expecting in December. Since then I have had the job offer withdrawn as they felt that I “misled them” and wasn’t honest. Is anyone able to give me some advice if I were to take this further.

I wonder if the other director has no clue and was included in that email without his knowledge?

@Char1997

Any updates OP??

Thinking of you x

I’d phone ACAS.

Legally you are supposed to tell your employer you are pregnant 15 weeks before you are due. So find your due date and count back 15 weeks. (It’s mid September and you said due in December so not sure of the exact dates for you - however the law states that you have to tell your employer, not your soon to be employer).

Maternity is a protected characteristic and they can’t not offer/withdraw a job offer due to it. The email above is your proof.

As other people have said, they don’t know how long you are planning on taking as May leave. Shared maternity/paternity exists and your DP could be taking the bulk of the time off.

Phone ACAS and run through with them, they can run through the process with you so that you submit your claim correctly.

I work in HR and I would encourage you to claim - this shouldn’t be happening in this day and age.

I should have read the whole thread!

Good luck OP. It can be a drawn out process.

Hey, no update yet! deadline is Friday so I am a bit worried but oh well! If they decide to not accept ACAS’s conciliation then I’ll just have to pursue it further! Thank you all for still thinking of this/wishing me luck etc!x

Crossing fingers that they settle.

Renewing my good luck!

Good luck OP

Good luck OP

They might just be being arseholes and leaving it to the very last day to make you sweat...

They might just be being arseholes and leaving it to the very last day to make you sweat..

The fact is, if they're an unscrupulous company who would discriminate against a person with a protected characteristic (pg) then their chosen tactic may be to deliberately not take action until they have to take action. They can decide to push back on ACAS Early Conciliation and keep hoping the OP gives up (what have they got to lose by doing that, it isn't costing them anything at that stage.)

It's important to keep a cool head @Char1997 and know this is their mindset. Stay with it and take it one step at a time. Best to be prepare for the worst but hope for the best.

All the best for tomorrow.

Fingers crossed!

Good luck.

Good luck for Friday. They made a big error- well done to you for being brave enough to let them know how big!

Good luck for tomorrow fingers crossed for you. They made a huge mistake and hope they realise!

Good luck xx

Hey all, updating the thread as I have now heard from ACAS. The director is saying that there was no formal written job offer made (this is correct as it was verbal, which is still legally binding by my understanding. Please tell me if i’m wrong) she is saying she has done nothing wrong whatsoever and doesn’t feel she discriminated against my pregnancy. She also said that she invited me back in to discuss. My standing behind that is that yes she invited me back in to discuss AFTER I had called her out and told her what she did wrong. Her initial email to me stated that she couldn’t see past the “dishonesty” etc etc. ACAS have closed the conciliation process and i’ve now been sent the certificate to take it to an employment tribunal. I’m feeling pretty determined and annoyed now that they clearly don’t feel they have done anything wrong whatsoever and definitely want to take this further!

Thank you to everyone who stayed watching for the last two months and filled me with encouragement!

Wow - I can't believe they're denying any wrong doing! I hope they get their arse handed to them! Thank you OP. Thank you for not tolerating this and taking a stand! Good luck with the tribunal, I'll be following!

I'm not an expert but the lack of written offer just seems like a red herring to me. I think it's actually irrelevant whether there was a formal offer or not. She wrote in an email to you that they wouldn't be giving you the job (offer or not) because you were dishonest about being pregnant. But you had no obligation to tell them you were pregnant and it shouldn't make any difference because they are not allowed to discriminate.

I can't remember if you've spoken to a solicitor already but I think it might be time to do so now. I think you can represent yourself at tribunal but it's probably worth ensuring you have legal support just so nothing is missed.

Good luck OP. I'd be surprised if they would get away with this. Maybe they are just hoping you won't take it to tribunal.

Thanks for keeping us posted OP and good luck.

Keep going OP. You're doing important work to keep the workplace fair.

Well done!

just read this whole thing - what an omnishambles! Sounds like you dodged a bullet working for this shower.

Keep up the fight, OP and best of luck.

Omnishambles is a great word. For this situation and in general.

I can't take credit, I think it's something Peter Capaldi's character came out with in The Thick of It.