Twice now I've gone on mat leave and seen my colleague promoted a couple of months after (while I'm on mat leave). I've then got the promotions a year later, when I've come back plus a couple of months. (So the first time I went off in October and he was promoted in December; I come back the following October and get promoted in the December).
This time he was promoted last November, and I'm expecting the same promotion come this November.
This colleague and I started at the same time several years ago and we've been in step the entire time on all promotions until I went on mat leave. I feel very confident that had I been in the office I would have been promoted to these two roles at the same time.
But we work for a consulting-type company in the private sector. Promotions are given when someone is ready (generally two promotion cycles a year, and the timing changes most years), and are not advertised or applied for. You don't need a position above to be vacant before being promoted. It's very informal and I haven't had a review since 2016; my colleague was in a similar position until this summer when I think he had a performance review.
Because of this, I'm wondering if the company can just do what they want and say there was no promotion to advertise to me. And maybe they'll say I needed the extra couple of months' experience each time to get the promotion.
An extra thing is that our office's MD went on mat leave in June this year and my colleague was given an additional senior role to be part of the Executive Committee. He hasn't got the MD job (there is acting MD cover), but this extra role now makes him considerably more senior than me. Only one person per office is on the Committee, so I can't get that role too and I can't see it being available to me. I don't know what will happen when our MD is back next spring/summer and whether my colleague will keep that role or not.
To be clear, I don't hold any ill-will towards my colleague. He's lovely and deserves his positions.
But have I been unfairly treated? Or is it just what happens when women go off and have babies?