I Think my boss wants to get rid of because im pregnant....help!

[icklmum]

Ok sorry if this is a bit long.

Im 20 weeks pregnant and have been in my current job since beginning of sept last year. I did not know i was pg when i started and didnt plan to get pg either.
When i first started everything was fine and i really enjoyed my job (i am a cleaner in a care home) i know i am good at my job as i have had other cleaning positions in the past and had no complaints.
There is also another cleaner there who is pg too due about the same time as me. she told our boss she was pg 2wks before i did and since then there have been complaints about our performance. Bearing in mind that since we announced we were pg our performance hasnt been 100% seeing as we have both had to have time off for tiredness and sickness. There is noone to cover us iff we are off sick and it is either left to the other cleaner (either me or her) to do ALL of the building alone or if were both off its just not done.

WE have been to our boss and let them totally blame us for being slack and us working 10 times harder as a result(or we'll be sacked) thinking everything would be fine. It is now 3 months since it started and we are still being slagged off for our perfomance and we are fast running out of ways to prove our worth. i dont want to leave but i just dont think i can take anymore and dont know if what theyre doing is wrong.

seems they are trying to push you out......maybe to save on mat pay?

id try and stick with it if you can. but go and see the citizens advice.

cx

Pregnancy discrimination is a big issue for the Equal Opportunities Commission - I would find the number of the EOC helpline and ring it, if I were you.

they're not pushing you out to save on maternity pay - if you get the statutory minimum the state pays not the employer. But it does seem like they might be trying to edge you out. speak to CAB. keep a diary of what happens. You cannot be expected to do more because they've failed to provide sick cover for another person. Could you offer to cover for each other - ie by doing paid-over time (not just working twice as hard and getting same amount). That way you are giving them a way to address any time off from sickness or appointments and - hopefully - you can bring your joint efforts fully up to scratch so they have nothing to complain about.

This happened to me when I was preggers and my union put the frighteners on them. It would be worth finding out which union covers your job, maybe tgwu and giving them a ring. You dont have to be a member for advice.

If you're not in a union then I'd strongly suggest joining one. They can get you the advice and representation you need. Trying to get you to leave because you can't take any more is probably exactly what your employer wants.

As far as your rights go, check out this page on the EOC website.

Oh, and the EOC helpline number is 0845 601 5901

Yes carly i had thought that but as i was pg when i started they dont have to pay me i get paid by the state.

We are trying to keep a diary of what we are doing everyday so that it can be seen that we are doing everything. And we have been trying to cover each other but it is difficult as they wont pay us anymore and we have worn ourselves out so much already. Also i have a little boy in school and can only work so many hours a day which makes it harder.

The only thing that worries me is how can you prove that its discrimination unless they actually say its because of pregnancy....and who in their right mind is stupid enough to say that!

thankyou leah thats great.

There were no complaints about performance before you told then you were pg? And the complaints started when you did? It sounds very much like pregnancy-related discrimination, which is illegal and could get very expensive for them. You need someone to fight on your behalf (or at least advise) - a union, EOC, Citizens Advice.

Hi,
A very similar thing happened to me when i was pg. This was before i found the wonders of MN, so was unable to get any consistent advice.
As you have less than a years service, you have less rights than someone with 12 months + service. However your pg does offer some protection. (Sorry not sure how much as you were pg when you started) I was 5 weeks short, when i was sacked at 23 weeks pg.
Are you suffering with any illness due to being pg? Knowing what i know now, i would speak to your dr and midwife and see if they can help by signing you off work for a while to help you.
HTH

You're doing the right thing by taking notes, and the union advice is sound, the shop stewards I've known see your sort of case as the good bit of their work.
Obviously complaints about the other pg woman at the same time will undermine their case big time.

I hear what you say about people not being stupid enough to say it's because of pregnancy, but you'd be amazed just how dumb people can be when they talk off the cuff.

Worth also pointing out as I have in another thread that if you take them to a tribunal they'll probably have to hire a lawyer, a cost they can't recoup regardless of outcome, and such fees make anything they save on you look pathetic.

I appreciate you're on a tight budget, but you can get a 20 quid MP3 which will voice record for a whole day.

Also you should never understimate the power of stupidity. You say that your maternity pay won't cost them. You know this. Do they ?
If you educate them, you may find their motivation goes down.

Might be worth leaving it on...