serious problems with work

[Vicky_Gazerimmer]

Hi Everyone

I have some serious problems at work and I need some advice.

I have informed my bosses that I am pregnant and I have been with the company 3 months. My probation period was extended the day after I told them. I am the youngest woman here all the other women are childless and career driven and basically I feel very alienated from everyone here.
The main boss is all about work and not family my boss has recently had a baby and he is off work on his paternity leave the main boss was not happy about him being off basically demanding he comes back cause our cleints shud be pririty over his new daughter.
I feel like I am being spyed on all the time no one really talks to me, if I am ill due to my pregnancy (which is alot at the moment I am ran down and sick) I come in anyway because I feel like not coming in may jeopardise my job. I am meant to be retrained for my extended prob period I have had 2 hours training for complex design coding which usually takes someone months to learn all the work I am given is rubbish buts no one else will do so I am not able to practice my new training.

There is no one here I feel happy to discuss this with, and the stress of this is making me very depressed, I cried my eyes out this morning simply because I dont want to be here.

 

[Rosieroo]

Firstly if you feel that you're being discriminated against then your best bet is to speak to Citizens Advice or ACAS. Make sure you keep a record of everything that's happened/happening and make notes on what you're going through. If things get really bad speak to a solicitor (you can normally go for a free consult) where they will tell you if you have a case for discrimination. When it comes to pregnancy and discrimination you don't normally need the normal service time (a year if I remember correctly) if you want to pursue them.

I was discriminated against by my work when they found out I was pregnant and in the end I left, pursued it through a solicitor (I got legal aid which was fab as he was an amazing solicitor) and settled out of court. Employers these days cannot get away with it, it's a shame they don't realise that!

 

[kirlykird]

Oh Vicky, that's awful..sorry to hear that, not what you need right now!

Check out this link... http://www.direct.gov.uk/Parents/Employment/fs/en

This is the governement website that informs you of your rights to everything, I find it very useful.

You cannot be treated like this and I understand that it must be difficult.

They cannot discriminate against you because you are pregnant... you have rights too

Good luck

 

[Minxy]

Hi Vicky, I was in a similar position to you, getting pregnant just 6 weeks after starting the job of my dreams!

It's a relatively small, family-run company and straight away I felt attitudes cool towards me, and the owner of the company called me a 'silly, silly girl'. She made me feel like a schoolgirl who'd had an accident, I was 29!

Your problem is with training cooling off etc is that the discrimination is indirect and very difficult to prove, they may say staffing shortages etc. What's worth remembering is even if you are off ill with pregnancy-related sickness often, they CANNOT end your probation period for this reason (I was obviously still on probation too and worried about this).

I felt my training took a backseat, and right until I left for maternity (and even now I suspect) there was speculation throughout the office as to whether I'd come back. I've always insisted I will, but someone has been hired permnanently to do my job anyway (I'm to be fitted into a different role IF I go back, they say )

Sorry it's a long one, and I don't have much advice, but wanted you to know you're not alone. Sex discrimination is as old as the hills, and don't be afraid to take Kina's advice of legal action, but only if necessary. Good Luck

 

[Dinski]

Hi Vicky,

I would say firstly, try not to let what's going on at work stress you out too much as it could affect the baby and at the end of the day in 20 years time you will have a grown up son or daughter and this job will be ancient history. I think the other ladies gave you good advice, remember that you do have rights and getting pregnant is not a crime. Maybe you should make it clear to them that you know your rights and you cannot be pushed into the back seat merely because you are pregnant. A lot of employers think that their employees are thick and they can be shocked if you show them you are clued up and not going to be bullied. Its horrible, I know, to feel so isolated at work (especially at a fairly new job) but you have to remember that you are not alone. Good luck! Dinski

 

[jano]

Sorry to hear that you are so upset about your situation at work.
I had been in my new "dream job" for just two weeks when i was pregnant. I went rushing into the office all excited bursting with my good news, but when i told them, my manager actually choked on her cornflakes, and the other manager,(a bloke) literally ignored me, and refused to even aknowledge i was in the room. When she had recovered from her coughing fit, the manager said "Was this planned" and I felt really silly and had to say "Yes" You could have heard a pin drop. Then she muttered congratulations through clenched teeth and that was that.

I`ve now gone off sick with morning sicknes sadly, as I was going to "show them" and not miss a day until my maternity leave, but I gave up cos i felt so ill. I am dreading going back and facing people when the sickness has worn off.

This one day, I was moping about feeling rough, and one of the anaesthetists ( i work in a theatre) said "Oh for ****`* sake, pregnancy is a condition, not a disease. It made me feel terrible. I find thats its quite often men or women who have never been pregnant have the worse attitudes.

Well good luck Vicky, let me know how you get on and i really hope that something gives to make your situation more bearable.

 

[Emmylou]

As an employer I would like to give my opinion - please don't gang up on me - hear me out!- i think the general fear with employers is that an employee will take time off throughout pg, and entitled or not - this can put a strain on other staff or the business. I am not at all saying it is allowed for employers to make clear there shock/ concern that they have a pg employee (I was the last employee we were expecting to find was expecting - so we had a huge shock) as it absolutely is not - you cannot be treated any differently because you are pg, if anything they should make sure you are well protected - not carrying boxes or working long shifts without adequate breaks etc. - they should still congratulate you, and give you support you need and adequate time off for mw/ hospital appointments etc. Its tough as an employer - but if you don't want to end up in a tribunal then you bite the bullet & play by the rules.

You are also legally entitled to return to your ORIGINAL job role when you return - not just get fitted in elsewhere (minxy) as you are entiltled to return to your job not someone elses! If they have taken on a permanent employee in your role, then more fool them, they will end up paying for 2 of you, as they should taken on a temp instead if they didn't want 2 staff doing the same job when you return.

I have taken 1 day off since i found out i was pg, and that was because i knew i couldn't function if i came into work. As it is my own business (with my OH), if i don't go in the work piles up and i end up with more to do, so i work long hours for little money and hope for the best - this is my choice I'm not after any sympathy. In the same breath - if I had a member of staff who was pg, I wouldn't be worried about the maternity leave - as I could get temps in to do the jobs that my girls do - but i would worry about them going off sick before then as the stress and the strain on my other staff would be enormous - we are only a smalll business so it is easily noticeable if one person is off! I'm not saying they would not be entitled to it, but I would worry about the affect on the other staff - its natural as an employer to worry abotu things like this, as we hve to think about the functionability of the company.

Sorry its a long post

 

[Minxy]

Thanks Emmylou, I appreciate your comments and actually understand where my employers are coming from.

It's quite a small company and people taking time off does cause upheavel, but I guess that's the price to pay for taking on people of childbearing age. And I am great at my job and fab value for money!!

About the 'original job' thing, I think my employers will get away with it because of my job description/title. It's deliberatley vague ('Whole person growth tutor'), so even though someone else is teaching my course I can go back and teach something else without arguement.

Which I don't really mind!

 

[lisa31]

Emmy lou - your post has been helpful as i am going through the exact thing at the moment - it's making me bad -i'm going to do a proper post about it later....

L x

 

[Emmylou]

but I guess that's the price to pay for taking on people of childbearing age.

Exactly!

That is the choice employers make - which is why they can't have a problem when their employees take maternity leave. We conducted interviews the other week to take on a new negotiator, half were male half were female - we chose to employ a 20 year old girl - she has started and is brilliant at her job - are we concerned that she may get pregnant - not particularly - if it happens it happens - thats life. We'll just get a temp in to cover her while she's off. Obviously if she is poorly and struggling and gets signed off in the meantime it will make a difference to the workload in the office, but we certainly wouldn't hold it against her personally! What of one of the other staff slips a disc and end up off work for 6 months - well we'll just deal with that too! Its the price you pay for employing full stop!

P.S Thats a bit cheeky giving you a vague job title!

 

[lisa31]

Ooops! I meant your post was helpful as I am having problems getting back to my own job / desk at work!

L x

 

[Emmylou]

Lisa - you are legally entitled to return to YOUR job, not a new job not a different department - your job, i think i've seen info on this somewhere, i'll have a look and post here and pm you too )

 

[Emmylou]

Taken from www.workingfamilies.org.uk:

Right to Return
After OML you have the right to return to your old job on your old terms and conditions.

After AML you have the right to return to your old job on your old terms and conditions unless it is “not reasonably practicable” in which case you must return to a job which is similar and on similar terms and conditions. In practice the right to return after OML & AML is essentially the same. You have the right to go back to work as if you had not been away, so while an employer can reorganize work and ask you to take on different duties, if this is connected to the way they covered your maternity leave this will be unlawful.

If you work for an employer with five or fewer employees, you have a slightly “watered down” right to return after AML. If your employer does not give you your job, or a reasonably similar job, after AML it will not automatically be an unfair dismissal. However unless your employer has very good reasons, it is likely to be an act of sex discrimination and unfair dismissal anyway. It is expected that from April 2007 the law will be changed to remove this exception for small businesses, as it does not offer much protection to employers, but confuses both businesses and employees as to what their rights are.

If you are not allowed to return to work after maternity leave or you are not given your old job back (or a suitable alternative if you have taken AML) then you will be treated as having been dismissed- you may have claims for unfair dismissal, “detriment”, automatic unfair dismissal and/or discrimination. Please ring our helpline on 0800 013 0313 and we can advise in detail. If your employer is claiming that your job is redundant, see the section on redundancy, below.

OML - Ordinary Maternity Leave
AML - Additional Maternity Leave

 

[lisa31]

Thank you Emmylou - I have PM'd you

L x