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Unfair treatment at work


question

I am five months pregnant and have been employed for six months full time as a recruitment consultant in a high-pressure environment.

My employer is not happy that I am pregnant and is putting pressure on me to 'make more money'. I have been told today (off the record, of course) that he doesn't want to 'let me go' but I must start putting in more effort and hours to make more money.

The manner in which he speaks to me is disgraceful (both alone and in front of other members of staff) and I feel like walking out. Can he get around dismissing me by saying I am not reaching my targets etc?

He is using every excuse to make me miserable. He even says that I talk about my scans too much which is nonsense - I make every effort not to talk about my pregnancy at work.



answer

It sounds as if your employer is trying to make life unpleasant for you in the hope that you will resign. This would be the easy option for him. If he dismisses you he has to prove his case.

You have extra legal protection against unfair dismissal when you're pregnant and the legal presumption would be that you were dismissed because of your pregnancy.

You should put your concerns to him or your Human Resources department in writing. If the treatment continues, you could bring a claim for sex discrimination against your employer while you are still employed. (His treatment of you amounts to sex discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy).

Call Working Families helpline on 0800 013 0313 for more advice.

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