NHS Nurse Maternity leave and job promotions

[happyd4ze]

Hi everyone,

I work for the NHS as a band 5 mental health nurse and am currently on maternity leave with my first baby.
Prior to going on maternity leave, I experienced what I believe to be discrimination. The short version of the story is that... a band 6 colleague left our team and the managers put out a MALE ONLY job advert for this post. I was therefore unable to apply. A male colleague with less experience ( and quite new to the team) applied for the post and was employed as a band 6.

The justification for the post was ' due to acuity'.

I sought advice from my union and we agreed that were was no real justification for the male only post as the caseload was the same as all of the band 6 female employees in the team ( a mix of male and female patients, both high and low risk). Also, unless specific male patients/female are a risk to female/male nurses or specifically requested by patients, nurses have a mixed caseload.

We had a good mix of male and female nurses in the team too so work could be distributed among the team and if there were issues with safety, staff could double up whether male or female!

I had an informal discussion with the operations manager who apologised and admitted that he was surprised the advert was passed by HR!!!!!
I was due to go on maternity leave 6 weeks later. The manager told me that i would be contacted while on leave regarding all band 6 job vacancies in my team and the other three other teams in the building.
I had support from my union to make a formal complaint but as I was nearly due to give birth, I did not feel that being pulled into meetings/possible tribunal around the time of giving birth was a wise idea.
So I decided to take no action but I have been feeling so resentful inside. I have been looking for new jobs while on leave.

To make matters worse, I saw that my team alone have advertised x4 band 6 posts while I've been off. Nobody has contacted me about any of the posts in the team or others. I have expressed interest on multiple occasions in a band 6 post.
Do I have another case for discrimination?
I can't understand why managers don't look at their staffing and support staff development !

Has anyone had experience of this or legal knowledge about workplace discrimination?

thank you in advance

Did you ever get a formal explanation about the reason a job was advertised for men only from the organisation? Did you ever ask for it ? That’s probably a starting point to raise a grievance under your Trust Policy. It is not usual for jobs to be advertised as male or female only. But there are circumstances that mean it is not illegal if it can be justified. You need to see the organisation rationale which was no doubt tested and questioned before this was agreed. Doesn’t mean they got it right but that’s what you will arguing against.

In terms of the advertisement of new job opportunities, whoever promised to specifically inform you of these probably overstepped. It’s not something a manager should do because it’s unfair to other people and in any case most managers don’t have time for this. They may be uncertain about the protocol and appropriateness of contacting someone on maternity leave. It’s the type of person pleasing commitment that seems good at the time but it’s not sustainable.

The responsibility to look for a new job sits with you. If you are actively looking you need to set alerts and check the trust and NHS jobs website. This gives you control and choice. I don’t see why you needed managerial support to be aware of new jobs being advertised.

Advertising a job as male only without good reason is discrimination.

If those at work were notified of the vacancies and you were not, you may have a case for discrimination.

@LemonTT I should have been clearer.
New job vacancies are announced in team meetings for all staff prior to going live. As I am not in the meeting and still employed in the role, I miss out on that information. If i was not checking vacancies within my team online, I would not know about them. I don't mean it's my managers job to help me find a new job.

@happyd4ze I'm not sure about the male only CPN role, I have only seen these advertised where there is a definite need, e.g. forensic caseload.

When I went on mat leave I was advised to look at the NHS jobsite if I wanted to be kept informed of any opportunities for promotion (I absolutely didn't, but my circumstances are different to yours). We're the jobs advertised as internal only, or on NHS Jobs?

If your trust is anything like mine there'll be loads of B6 opportunities, maybe branch out from your location and try something new. Good luck

@happyd4ze you need to take several approaches

• Apply for the 4 x Band 6 vacancies if the closing date is in the future.
• Email your manager and HR and advise them that you were not notified of the vacancies. Politely remind them that you would appreciate them making sure you are promptly notified under the Keep in Touch policy.
• keep checking the website for vacancies and apply for Band 6 jobs.

WRT the Male general occupational requirement (GRO) - this is gone, I know it may have been wrong but you have left it too late. What you can do is separately email HR and ask what is the policy/requirements for making a vacancy sex specific. Keep this for the next time a GRO is advertised.