Sudden performance issues since pregnancy?

[RachB2020]

Shocked to say my employer had a performance review with me yesterday, I’m 12 weeks and 5 days pregnant and he claims he is dissapointed in my performance over the past 4-5 weeks. Is this even allowed? He couldn’t give me any examples of these sudden issues raised and claims I’ve made the management team frustrated with the constant need of direction. Any advice or anyone been through anything similar?! I understand feedback and growth in the workplace is needed, however they had an expectation level of me which can’t be maintained due to me being tired through pregnancy etc which I’ve voiced in previous chats/reviews.

HR professional here, I’ll try to advise as best I can but if you think you are facing discrimination I’d suggest getting specific advice from a union/solicitor/ACAS.

I’m assuming your employer knows you’re pregnant.

Essentially, your employer is still allowed to manage poor performance during pregnancy but they need to demonstrate that their performance concerns are genuine and unrelated to your pregnancy.

Was this an informal conversation or have they entered into a formal performance management/PIP process?

I would suggest putting everything in writing, as you may need to rely on this down the line. Set out your concerns to them (I.e. what you are struggling with and how due to pregnancy illness, and what support you need from them), explain that you are unclear about their specific concerns and what they want you to do differently, ask them to put it in writing and to be specific about what their issues are, what changes they expect to see, etc.

Thanks for your advice.

No evidence was given for my poor performance and he used terms such as “before you have never been an issue and need direction, over the past 4-5 weeks your performance has declined” I asked for examples and a second manager I asked for feedback on the same topic over stated that they would not give me anymore or any less direction than what they would give any other employer. No documented chats where had, no discussion notes where taking everything was verbal.

I had another chat tonight with him which resulted in me explaining that he’s really caused me a lot of stress and the feeling of being unwanted at my place of Work. He didn’t respond when I asked is this because of my pregnancy because the issues that have been suddenly brought to attention are only since I have become pregnant.

I’ve documented everything and will call ACAS on Monday - I have spoken to 1 of a 3 member management team for feedback around my performance so it is showing that I am taking on board bad performance feedback to improve, however I feel this is discrimination in my pregnancy.

Any more info on HR advise or where I stand would be great.

You could also try calling Maternity Action and Pregnant Then Screwed, both organisations have free advice lines.

It's also worth checking if you have legal expenses cover with your home insurance, there will often be a legal advice line as part of the cover and you might be entitled to support if you did need to take legal action.

Thank you x

So sorry, this must be quite stressful. Without knowing all the ins and outs, it’s hard to say whether they are discriminating.

The way I see it, there are three possible scenarios:

A) There are genuine performance concerns unrelated to your pregnancy - if this is the case your employer has the right to address it (but still needs to be clear with you what the issues are, what they want to change, and give you a chance to ask for support)
B) There are genuine performance issues but these have arisen as a direct result of your pregnancy or a pregnancy related illness - in this case it’s okay for your employer to discuss these concerns with you and to work with you to make improvements, however it could potentially be discriminatory for them to take action against you because of this e.g. disciplinary, dismissal, etc.
C) Their performance concerns are not genuine and have been made up or exaggerated because you are pregnant - this is definitely discrimination

If you think you are facing discrimination then agree with pp that it would be good for you to seek some specific advice and support. My understanding is that there is a fairly high bar to be able to prove discrimination in an employment tribunal, but a solicitor could give much better advice on your case than I can obviously.

It would also be good for you to have a think about what your ideal outcome is here, e.g. if you want to remain with your employer but just need more support during your pregnancy, then you might be best dealing with it internally with support from your HR team

Thank you for your advice. It’s been a extremely stressful situation.

I think to make matters even more stressful is that they haven’t done a specific risk assessment with me and they’ve known about my pregnancy for 8/9 weeks. So none of the management team have had the opportunity to ask me if my health is ok etc, if I’m finding the workload to much or even made adjustments to the risks at my workplace to make it a safe environment for me. Which makes me think that if they knew that I was tired etc they would be more empathic to why and if my performance was declining.

They haven’t gave me any examples or feedback that isn’t linked to my pregnancy and I’m quite a reasonable person and would be willing to resolve this in house, but it’s past the point now and I’m feeling unwanted so I feel strongly it’s a HR job. Your advice means a lot. Thank you

You’re welcome, I hope you can get this sorted and get the support that you need from your bosses. I’d encourage you to go and speak with your HR team, it’s a key part of their role to support you with this kind of thing.

This all sounds very stressful and I hope it works out well for you, OP. But just wanted to say that I’ve worked in female dominated industries where women are generally very well supported in pregnancy and maternity, and I have ever heard of a specific pregnancy risk assessment being done. I think unless you are working with chemicals / in a very technical or physically demanding job you may be expecting a bit much in terms of adjustments to workload in light of pregnancy.

I’ve sent an email to HR asking for some resolution in this thank you

It’s in regards to hazardous chemicals and carrying heavy equipment etc yes. I think it was more an opportunity to have a catchup with me also around how my health is going and is there any support or additional needs that I require during this time which he has failed to do.