Could I have been discriminated against?

[TheseAreMyGoodPants]

Hi all. I appreciate this may just be me being bitter!

I have worked for a company on a temporary contract for over a year. I have always received glowing praise from my supervisor and never had any complaints about my performance. I have previously asked about being made permanent, and was told that they would love to, but unfortunately due to financial reasons head office have majorly reduced the number of permanent contracts they're willing to give out.

I am currently on maternity leave and not due to return to work until February next year. A couple of weeks ago an advert came up for a permanent position in the company. It was essentially the exact same job I am doing as a temporary worker (same department, same job title, same duties), just with more security! I applied for it and was invited to an interview, which happened yesterday. One of the people interviewing me was my supervisor, so they've seen my performance on the job.

I got a phone call this morning to tell me that, although it was a 'very strong' interview and it was a very hard decision, I have not been successful and it was given to another temporary worker within the company. I actually know the candidate that was given the job, and they work for another department and have never done the job before.

I am of course very deflated/disappointed and cannot help but think that me being on maternity leave was a big factor in them not giving me the job? I know it is illegal, but they could still not give it to me and then come up with another reason. I have been doing the job for over a year and have always had positive feedback, I have the relevant qualifications, I know the procedures and already gained a rapport with the teams I would be working with.... The other candidate is from another department, is doing a job that is similar but not exactly the same so will require fairly extensive training, hasn't worked with the same teams, doesn't have as many qualifications. I know all of this because they work fairly closely with our department so I talk to them frequently and had developed somewhat of a friendship with them (I'm not angry at them of course)... It just doesn't make sense to me why they were chosen over me. I have requested feedback and they've said they will send it to me next week.

I don't know, maybe I'm just being bitter. But I cannot help but feel like me being on maternity pretty much cost me the job. Does anyone else get that impression? I appreciate it's a big ask, expecting a company to keep a job open for me until February, but they already have anther temp in to cover me until I return so it's not as if they are short staffed, and they invited me to interview knowing I am on maternity.

Just feeling very deflated 😕

I think it's very likely the fact that you are on maternity leave made them decide against you. I've seen it all the time in real life however it would be really difficult to prove given you and the successful candidate were both' internal candidates and it's easy to say that one of ye did a stronger interview than the other to justify a decision:
If you like the company and hope to go back I think in your shoes I would let it go ( despite it feeling really unfair) as you're unlikely to win a grievance and you'll just burn your bridges with them for ever. Sorry I know it's crap

It's probably the reason but you'd never prove it.

It sucks though op.

One of the people interviewing me was my supervisor, so they've seen my performance on the job.

quite often this means candidates don’t say things in the interview because they think the panel already know things, but if you don’t say it in the room, it can’t be counted. Lots of people lose out because of this.

@OverTheHillAndDownTotherSide I was mindful of this so acted like/answered their questions as if I had never met them before.

I agree it's likely because you are on maternity, but not necessarily direct discrimination

The company are thinking along the same lines as you- " it's a big ask, expecting a company to keep a job open for me until February," and have gone for a more practical solution. February is 7 months away. The have a business to run in the meantime

The other candidate did a better interview and got the job. Where's the discrimination in that?

The other person was better on the day. Had you not had the opportunity to apply or be interviewed that would be discrimination.

If the other candidate has less experience and fewer qualifications, maybe they have been offered a lower salary than they would have had to offer you. You say that the company has been holding back on employing permanent staff for financial reasons, so perhaps it was just cheaper to give the job to the other candidate.

Or it could be what you first thought, of course. Or a combination of the two.

I am sure that your employer is aware of this, but obviously you are not. Designating contracts as temporary or permanent is in this day and age, largely a pointless exercise. The crucial factor is not whether it contains one of those words, but whether the post holder has more than 2 years continuous service. If they do, then in all respects the employer must treat them exactly the same as they would treat any other employee. If, for example, they were "temporary" and there were a need for redundancies, they cannot be made redundant before "permanent" employees. If they have more than two years service and their contract comes to an end, the employer must be very careful to treat them as redundant, and if there are other employees doing the same role their being "permanent" should not exclude them from being placed in a pool with that individual. It is a long time since the law allowed "temporary" workers to be treated differently.

So no, I don't think that you have been discriminated against. And something not making sense to you doesn't mean it doesn't make sense to the employer. There are many valid reasons to employ someone with different skills or experience, and just because you can't think of any of them doesn't mean they don't exist.

When one door closes

A new door with better opportunities will open for you

It probably was because you are on Mat leave but can’t see how you could prove that