Turned down for a promotion when pregnant. Have I been discriminated against?

[pinkie87]

I work in the NHS and suspect that I may have been ruled out of getting a promotion due to being pregnant.

I am a band 5 currently and was a trainee scientist until I became state registered in March. A job opportunity came up for a band 6 scientist in my department last month. Obviously I have lots of relevant experience as I have worked and trained in this role as part of my training for nearly three years. I was told I could not apply as I do not have evidence of a post registration qualification, and do not have enough post HCPC registration experience.

I work in a very niche laboratory, and very few people have experience in this type of lab. I would have been perfectly eligible to apply, apart from the fact that a filter question was put in on the application form specifying the need for one year post registration experience.

The person who has been offered the job has two years post registration experience in a completely UNRELATED laboratory/field. this person does NOT have any post registration qualifications - essentially they are as qualified as me, but with no relevant experience.

The reason I think I have been discriminated against is that there is one major aspect of the job that I cannot currently do in pregnancy due to health and safety. For this reason, I think they do not want me in the post.

What do I do if I think I have been discriminated against? I am anxious that this is going to cause a big problem with my manager if I take it further. So was looking for advice as to what (if anything) may come out of this if I did take action or seek help.

I would suspect they have completely covered themselves by stating the need for post registration experience of 1 year.

Can you find out whether any previous application forms had the same filter on them? If it's a standard requirement for band 6 star to have the year post registration experience then it seems reasonable that they wouldn't drop it to enable you to apply.

Could you have put in an application anyway? With a cover letter explaining the experience you have gained doing this work for 3 years?

As for whether they should be willing to hire someone who is unable to do a major part of the job, I'm not sure! Obviously you have protection in your current role that you can't be discriminated against, but I don't think that would apply when seeking a new job. Unless they never hire a woman though, any applicant could be pregnant without telling them.

Maybe they don't want someone who's disappearing on maternity leave soon too (reasonable or not).

I could only have applied if I said yes to the filter question (post registration experience), which would obviously have been a lie. So not really.

Re: past applications, no I don't think they did have the same filter. But we have a new manager (previously deputy) so she could just say it's how she wants it done now.

It's good to hear from other people to see if I am being too sensitive/over thinking it. Maybe I am.

Well, if you would be an obvious candidate, and a criteria that is not ordinarily felt necessary for the role was inserted, and that criteria is what has ruled you out, I think it's reasonable of you to be concerned.

What you do about it is a tricky question though. It may depend what you want to achieve really. You could raise it with your manager and say that you are concerned that new, previously unrequired criteria are being inserted in those circumstances and ask about the reasoning behind the criteria.

You could raise it with HR in a "just for your information you may want to consider this as there is a possibility if new criteria are inserted in circumstances like this there is a risk some potential candidates may see it as possibly discriminatory".

Sent you a message x

Are you sure about this? In my world (NHS) there is no way that a newly qualified person would get a band 6 job one month after qualifying. Qualifying is only the beginning, surely?

I agree with lugle.
You've spent less than three years training on the job and you have been qualified for 1-2 months so you are hardly likely to get promoted so soon.

I work in an NHS lab and there is no way someone would get a band 6 after only being qualified a few months. Sorry.
Sounds annoying though that the person who did get it hasn't worked in that area before. Was their experience in a totally different area eg biochemistry when you work in haematology, or have they not worked in your niche area before?

I think you're also forgetting transferable skill. The newly promoted person will need to come up to speed, but should do that very quickly.