Maternity discrimination?

[mumisskint]

Honey - It had my name on it as though it was a letter address to me. I assumed it was for me as a result. What was in it was the pooling criteria and scores for the managers redundancy pool, at least that is what he said it was, he didnt actually show me. I dont know why it was addressed to me. I didnt look in it - I wish I had now!!

Papa - ever the optomist I always try and think the best of people!! I have just emailed the insurers again to see if they have a decision and expressed how urgent it is.

Elpupo - they didnt give me anything I was just marched out of the building with a vague promise someone would be in touch.

Papa - He refused to look anywhere himself, he refused to search my bag, my drawers, he was just adamant it was there somewhere, he asked 'if i had put it in my bag by mistake' i denied it as I hadnt, knowingly. he got my co worker to verify that it had come from my bag, he didnt show either of us what was in it, look of triumph he took off, came back , made her witness taking my keys and seeing me out.

[papasmurf1cx]

Having possession of the crown jewels in an unopened box which is addressed to you, is quite honestly, of little evidencial value. had you actually opened it and read the contents and then placed it in your bag that might have been a different issue. As it is, write down exactly what he did and didn't do, note the time you had off since the date when all this was relevant. The fact that he himself thought that a "mistake" had occurred and then he took the action he did seems well over the top and indicative that he had a plan of action. You don't march people out of a building in the humiliating manner that he did for 'mistakes.'

[mumisskint]

Y'see I'm one of these people who has zero admin skills, I leave everything to build up and then file 2 years worth in an afternoon, I didnt look at it, if I had I would have given it back. The other question is i'm doing the et1 at the moment - do I put this in, and how.

[papasmurf1cx]

Mum I would wait until SarEl or one of the other lawyers come and advise you. From my perspective I would mention it as an act of Victimisation as it clearly was intended to humiliate you, punish you and call your integrity and honesty into disrepute.

[elpulpo]

What size is the business you work for, Mum?

[mumisskint]

20 staff, less now - 15 - why?

[elpulpo]

20 staff, less now - 15 - why?

Just wondered, gives some perspective as to how they behave. Sounds like a small business from how they've behaved.

[mumisskint]

Our HR trustee however is HR Director for one of the biggest govt departments in England so to an extent they should know better.

[elpulpo]

Oh don't get me started on HR:mad2:

[papasmurf1cx]

Nor me :mad2:

[honeybee13]

My OH has dealings with children who work in HR departments most days, you don't want to get him started either. Or me come to that. :mad2:

 

HB

[papasmurf1cx]

My OH has dealings with children who work in HR departments most days, you don't want to get him started either. Or me come to that. :mad2:

 

HB

 

Are we in a bidding game here as to who hates HR the most?

 

I do so there.

[honeybee13]

Are we in a bidding game here as to who hates HR the most?

 

I do so there.

 

Well, the firebreathers seemed to be going up with your and Elpulpo's posts, thought I'd follow the trend. And I was speaking for 2 people.

 

HB x

[papasmurf1cx]

Well, the firebreathers seemed to be going up with your and Elpulpo's posts, thought I'd follow the trend. And I was speaking for 2 people.

 

HB x

 

and here's me thinking you were a trend setter HB !!!!

[honeybee13]

Observer more than a leader, I think. Who's going to say 'Back to topic' first, do you think?

 

HB x

[mumisskint]

Do I have to put literally everything on this ET1 then.

BACK TO TOPIC!!!! xx

[elpulpo]

Sorry:peep:

[papasmurf1cx]

The ET 1 can be quite brief outlines generally where the case is. Employed x years in role of y. Problems with health ccc Hours were reduced because nnn Went on maternity leave xx came back zz new manager in post not allowed back to pre problem hours... Did not get fair shake in allocation of points re redundacy because dddd Allege sex discrimination, allege unfair dismissal allege (all the things SarEl advised earlier. Grievance lodged date fff Date returned to work after week away to clear desk letter incident happened..... clearly letter planted in desk to punish re lodging grievance led out of building clear act of victimisation

 

 

These are like Headlines. You don't have to detail exact facts just a general direction where you are going.

 

Sorry for mild hilarity above.... we see a lot of posts here and a certain familiarity is met with the regulars, it doesn't detract from what we try and do for OP's....... you are going to need humour to get to the end of this process Mum.... just try and stay the course. You are either one of two types of people the one that will give up and just move on and not think the fight worth the hassle or the other which is to be outraged that you have been treated this way by your ex employer and want to take it all the way. My wife and I were the second type but there was many times when we thought of giving up but decided not to. You have your own path to tread and we will try and help.

[mumisskint]

I think I can stay the distance,my sense of humour just seems to have disappeared down the loo for the minute. I just feel utterly humiliated, lost and my head is about to explode with sheer disbelief and panic. No phone calls tonight, no emails, ET1 half done, will post up again in the morning for some guidance.

[honeybee13]

Hi Mum, hope you're feeling a bit better this morning. You have no reason to feel humiliated, you didn't do anything wrong. Try to move on with the rest of your life now. At least you don't have to go back and face the office now.

 

HB x

[mumisskint]

mn

Edited March 2, 2011 by mumisskint

[honeybee13]

Hello again. I'm really sorry about the tablets. I know how it feels to manage to get off them and you hope not to re-start, but as you say, if you need them you need them.

 

I'm sure 9th March will come around very quickly. Try to unwind a bit and spend some quality time with your baby.

 

HB x

[papasmurf1cx]

Mum... I know that doctors always want to help and it is difficult for them NOT to prescribe a medication where they think that it will help, and indeed some people do need that prop, but I would ask you, do YOU really think it will help your situation? Personally I need tablets to ward off pain but I hate it as the side effects are hard to deal with, so as going on the meds will affect not only you but your baby (and there is no more satisfying and relaxing bond is there not of breast feeding, not that I have done it of course) I would ask you is it worth it for a short term fix? Don't do it if you can at all help it and cope without it.

 

The Grievance hearing will no doubt be heard once you have submitted your ET1. The grievance result and appeal result will only confirm the decisions that have already been made (By the way I would further grieve about your treatment yesterday) therefore the resultant letter will be an act of victimisation. These things just start to pile up after a while. The point I am trying to make is you should NOT worry about what actions they do to you as YOU HAVE NO COTROL over that. You can only retreive monetary gain from winning at the ET. You can control the life of your new baby and difficult as it is you have to put the work aspect of this on the back burner and merely fight the injustice. This could go on for months if not years (ours took nearly 4 years from start to finish and aspects are still ongoing). So think again about meds!!

[mumisskint]

I havent actually taken them for those very reasons.... xxxx

[mumisskint]

ET1 submission : is this working or is it too long winded / too much information? Do I need to say how this made me feel as well? The impact? I believe I was unfairly dismissed through unfair selection for redundancy.

I believe I have been treated less favourably than someone who had not been on maternity leave and so discriminated against.

 

Background

I became pregnant in August 2009 and advised my employer when I found out a few weeks later. I advised my line manager, the companies Director X, in November 09 I wanted to stop travelling to our office in B given the considerable stress this was causing and the potential impact this stress would have on the pregnancy. This journey from Torbay was often done at short notice , resulted in a 12 hour day, four of which would be spent in the car and whilst I was contracted to work 25 hours a week this journey resulted in TOIL of over 60 hours being accrued. I was told this was not possible and had to send my employer details from the Health and Safety Executive as to the company's obligations to conduct a pregnancy risk assessment. This was conducted and the risk in travelling accepted. As a result my hours were reduced from 25 to 20. I was offered no alternative employment to make up the hours I had lost in removing me from this risk and my pay was reduced.

 

I went onto maternity leave early at the end of February 2010 due to raised blood pressure. It was agreed a member of staff, X , would be upgraded to cover my maternity period. All tasks including the work in Barnstaple were included in this role.

 

My baby was born in May 2010.

 

I met with X about my return to work on 19th November 2010. He clearly stated he could not increase my hours but gave no reason as to why this was. He also stated that I did not want to go back to working in Barnstaple but again gave no reason why or canvassed for my opinion. He then quickly informed me that the company would be entering into a formal redundancy process and I was required to attend a meeting on December 13th where this would be discussed in more detail. He was clear all jobs were at risk. I asked him what I could do to help in terms of fundraising and was told not to worry. This conversation was witnessed by my partner.

 

I returned to work on January 4th to find that X remained in post working the hours that I could not be given back despite all staff and all contracts that I had managed before going onto maternity leave still being in place. As I used to manage X in her caseworker role before my maternity leave, this supervisory role had been taken by X and again this was not returned to me. I was given no explanation and no alternative employment at the terms and conditions I left were offered. Instead I signed a letter that stated I agreed to the changes in my terms and conditions. I was not given the opportunity to seek advice, but after my initial induction meeting was told to sign it as the Admin Officer had a copy ready for me.

 

The redundancy was conducted through a pooling process. I was assessed in the Managers pool of two people, me and my colleague Y who has the same role as me. Niether X or X were part of that pool. Based on scoring I was deemed to be the lowest and have been made redundant. X as my assessor had used incidents that allegedly had occurred whilst I was on maternity leave that I knew nothing about and could not defend myself against as part of the assessment. X however has not been made redundant. She continues to do the job I was doing prior to my maternity leave with X continuing to pick up her supervision yet X was assessed in the Caseworker pool and X in the Directors pool. During confidential scoring interviews X stated to me that X had done very well in the caseworker pool but had she been assessed in the managers pool she would not have done very well at all due to her inexperience.I challenged why she was still doing my role and was told she wasnt. I asked why her email still said 'caseworker manager' and he said it was only for a short period.

 

I have now raised these issues as a grievance with my employer. I believe as a result of this I have been potentially victimised. (I dont know how really to put this bit)

xx

Edited March 2, 2011 by mumisskint