Being pregnant – how to avoid discrimination at work
When you’re pregnant, you should not be discriminated against at work. If you are treated unfavourably due to your pregnancy, you can make a claim against your employer and may win compensation.
That’s what happened to Mrs N Agarwal. She started as a customer service assistant at St John Freight System UK in September 2017, with working hours from 9am to 3pm in the office, and 4.30pm to 5.30pm from home. The letter of employment made no reference to this being a temporary arrangement or subject to discretion from the employer.
One day in October 2018, Mrs Agarwal experienced bleeding during pregnancy, and left the office early to go to hospital. She spoke to Mr V Kanakasahai, a director, to inform him she was pregnant and explain why she was absent.
During this conversation, Mr Kanakasahai told her she needed to be in the office with access to the computer in order to work efficiently, and that he needed staff who could work full-time. He added that, if she couldn’t change her hours, she should resign.
He repeated this requirement in a conversation the next day, while Mrs Agarwal was on her way into hospital for a scan. She followed this up by providing a sick note from her GP, in line with normal company procedures.
With ongoing complications during her pregnancy, she continued to submit sick notes between October 2018 and January 2019. In December 2018, she emailed the company to tell them she she intended to return to work at the end of her sick leave on 2 January 2019.
Her employer replied to say her office hours when she returned would be 9am to 5.30pm with a one-hour lunch break. However, they didn’t get her agreement in advance, nor did they issue a formal decision, instruction or requirement.
Despite Mrs Agarwal’s insistence that she couldn’t work extra hours in the office due to her childcare obligations and pregnancy-related fatigue, the company maintained this stance throughout December to January, and wrote to her on 5 and 11 November to say she’d been selected for redundancy.
Claiming at the employment tribunal
Mrs Agarwal made a claim for discrimination at the East London tribunal, where Judge Catrin Lewis found that she had been treated unfairly by her employer, and awarded her more than £18,000 for loss of earnings and injury to feelings, plus uplift and interest.
Here’s what her employer did wrong:
- They discriminated against Mrs Agarwal by trying to change her flexible working arrangements without agreement when she sought to return from a period of pregnancy-related absence
- The change in office hours would be a detriment to her
- Her boss told her she should resign when he found out about her pregnancy and that complications caused her to take time off work
- They didn’t follow a fair process when saying she’d been selected for redundancy
What this means to you
Employers have a responsibility to ensure the health and safety of their employees, and to prevent any unfavourable treatment because of pregnancy.
When you tell your employer that you’re pregnant, they should:
- Consult their risk assessments
- Make any adjustments needed as the pregnancy progresses
- Consider the number of hours a pregnant employee could work
- Maintaining good communication and a safe working environment
If your employer doesn’t treat you fairly during your pregnancy, talk to us. We’ll let you know your chances of winning a discrimination claim against them.
Related reading
- Can I sue for pregnancy discrimination?
- I’ve suffered pregnancy discrimination. What can I do?
- Pregnancy/Maternity. Do you know your rights?
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