Baby news that brought out the worst in an employer

There are far too many reports about the unlawful and disgraceful treatment suffered by a pregnant employee after informing an employer they are expecting a baby - and Chelsea’s story is an unwelcome addition to that list.

The car leasing sales executive discovered she was pregnant with her second child one year after returning to work following maternity leave after the birth of her daughter.

Chelsea was delighted at the baby news, but that joy was not shared by her employer.

She said her male manager reacted to the news with an expletive followed by words to the effect of ‘you must be joking, not again.’

He said it was a critical time for the business, everyone needed to be pulling their weight, and it would be difficult to accommodate a long-term absence.

Just eight weeks later Chelsea was informed by her manager, out of the blue, the business had concerns about her performance.

This was despite the fact she had always received very positive performance reviews.

Chelsea was placed on a performance improvement plan (PIP) as part of a performance management process.

She was said not to be meeting monthly sales quotas and revenue targets.

It was at a time when she had been forced to take time off as a result of pregnancy-related illness.

Chelsea did enough to successfully complete the PIP - but it was not too long before she was informed of a new concern.

Two weeks after the end of the PIP, Chelsea was summoned to her manager’s office, told the business had received a complaint about her, and informed she was being suspended from work as a result of the serious nature of it.

Two days later she was invited to attend a fact-finding meeting as part of the disciplinary investigation process.

Chelsea was told the allegation was in relation to her revealing confidential company information to a client.

She was asked a series of questions, but not actually told what the information was that she had divulged or given the identity of the client.

Chelsea was later invited to a disciplinary hearing to face an allegation of breaching the data protection policy. Dismissal was said to be a potential outcome to the hearing.

Worried Chelsea contacted our Employee Support Centre for help.

She discussed the case with our representative. He was shocked by the lack of detail to support the allegation and fact no evidence had been given to Chelsea.

This led to Chelsea raising a grievance on the grounds of discrimination as a result of her pregnancy and unfair treatment.

A request from our representative to postpone the disciplinary hearing in order to hear, investigate and address the grievance first, was accepted by the employer.

Our representatives are experienced and skilled in having to deal with employers who stubbornly refuse to accept they have done anything wrong, even in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary.

However, every now and again they do encounter an employer that does accept what it as done wrong, and this was one such case.

At the grievance hearing, our representative presented a comprehensive argument, backed up with evidence provided by Chelsea, to assert she was being subjected to unlawful discrimination and unfavourable treatment.

It was a compelling presentation that made clear and evidenced the direct link between Chelsea’s pregnancy and unfair disciplinary process, which he said was clearly aiming to remove her from the business because her manager was unhappy  she was having a baby.

Our representative argued the disciplinary process and manner in which it was being conducted was grossly unfair and it should be reviewed, stopped, with Chelsea allowed to return to work and given meaningful support.

Her desired grievance outcome was to stop the disciplinary process and get to her maternity leave to allow her time to evaluate her options, while still receiving an income.

Delighted Chelsea was informed after the grievance hearing that the disciplinary allegation had been dismissed.

She returned to work and was given a new manager and support up until going on maternity leave. Chelsea was simply told her previous manager had left the business.

Chelsea remained in work until going on maternity leave. She returned after the birth of her second daughter, and stayed a few months before leaving on her terms.