So I've taken the difficult descision to take my employer to an employment tribunal for materntiy discrimination suffered whilst I was on maternity leave. My manager didn't keep me in the loop at all (as is the policy at work), purposefully didn't invite me to events and make me aware of things which would assist my career, called me weekly over a number of months to 'suggest' the job wasn't for me any more and had I considered leaving/moving etc, ringing me up (drunk?) and abusing me and hanging up on me (in the middle of the day) and changing my client at work to ensure I couldn't pick up my eldest child from school, or take her, and telling me to use wraparound care. She told me that I was no longer skilled enough to do my job due to it 'growing' and then replaced me with the two new starters I'd trained personally.

I challenged the client/working hours and it was found she had made 'significant misundertstandings' in my role and I was granted the hours I wanted (my client didn't even work at the time she wanted me in the office!) Luckily due to a 'company restructure' my boss was moved out of my department and my new manager is nice, though I get a lot of death stares from her and her group, who, I've been told, loudly discuss my case and my medical notes in the canteen. My manager tells me to 'leave it' as I can't prove it's happening so it continues. I hate going into work.

My company refused to speak to ACAS at all and I've been through the whole process, it is heard in court next week. The 'evidence' my company has brought is almost totally and provably fabrication - I challenged one piece which stated I 'stood up in the office when I was nine months pregnant and stated I would take the company for every penny' - turns out the manager's 'friend' had heard me say it, and when I looked into it they were on annual leave that day! So they were removed as a witness. The evidence includes full disclosure of my HR notes and in the notes are emails from my boss to HR stating she didn't think I was a good fit any more (despite never meeting me - she was assigned as my manager just after I'd had my baby) and how could they help her manage me into another role away from the area!

To this day I have no idea what I ever did to this woman I never met. Anyway, it goes to court in two weeks and I am dreading it - I'm already on antidepressants for the treatment I had over the year I was on maternity leave. I even ended up thousands out of pocket taking extra ma leave as I couldn't bear facing her.

I can't afford to get a lawyer though I have taken some great advice from citizens advice and ACAS say my case is strong. I've spoken to the judge at the preliminary hearing and he can't believe (his words) my company are stringing out a 'fairly clear cut case', so I do think it (hopefully) will go my way. The character witnesses, all management friends of my former boss, have all torn me apart as a bad employee who refuses to help herself but I was on maternity leave - I wasn't supposed to be working! My references and feedback were excellent before I dared have a baby.

This is really really stressing me out, this upcoming court case and I have repeatedly thought of pulling out but it's cost me a fortune and loads of time to prep and I genuinely think my company should be held accountable for the awful awful time I had on mat leave. I wasn't even invited to the Christmas party 'in case I brought up things which shouldn't be talked about in public' (her words via email) and my pay was wrong as she 'forgot' to let HR know my return details.

My employer has now asked for the case hearing to be extended to 4 days from 2 as there is so much evidence (against them!) I am terrified of the character assassination I face, they even have my medical notes, they've even blamed my stress on my mother's heart attack which happened four months after the abuse from my manager started. My manager was aware I had a months old baby and a mum on life support and she still rang me, when I was in the hospital, to pressure me into quitting my job. My husband works for the same company (different department) and they've even dragged him into it saying my boss didn't update me on anything as it was my husband's responsibility! Despite me having an email from HR stating that is absolutely untrue and totally inappropriate.

I just feel so David vs Goliath at the moment. Can the little person ever win, even if they're right, against four lawyers and a huge huge company with endless reserves of cash? For the good of my health should I pull the case and quit my job? I don't know what to do.

Yes the little person can win. What is the outcome you're hoping for?

The judge asked me that and I said all I was looking for was pay for the months I extended my maternity leave (as I was unable to come back until my hours were sorted out) as they were unpaid and I'd budgeted to be paid for those months, and consideration for the fact it's cost me over £1000 to bring the case. I also asked for an admission that the way I'd been treated was unacceptable, an apology and the chance to work with my company to ensure that no loopholes in policy could ever allow for this type of treatment to happen again. Whilst I'd like to see myself 'solvent' against the loss I've had due to the discrimination I'm not looking for a huge 'compo' payout or a 'big win'. I just want justice at this point because that woman pretty much destroyed me on mat leave and I am not the same person today.

Not much advice I'm afraid but, if you haven't, the Equality Advisory Support Service may be able to offer a bit more advice.

0808 800 0082


It sounds like you've been on antidepressants for a while and, possibly, this could mean you could be considered as having a disability under the Equality Act 2010. The EASS above will be able to advise about this.

What this could mean is the Tribunal has a duty to make reasonable adjustments to address any substantial disadvantage you may be at during the Tribunal process. A reasonable adjustment could be allowing you to have someone sitting with you for support, adjusting the pace of the Tribunal - allowing you to have more breaks etc. If you are considered to have a disability, think of how your health could put you at a disadvantage and what the Tribunal could do to minimise this disadvantage. You would then need to let the Tribunal know what adjustments you would like and it would be very helpful to get a supporting letter from your doctor.

It's clear you've got a lot on and I guess it can feel overwhelming at times. Gather all the support around you that you can and try and keep focused on the reasons why you've had to take this step.

Good luck.

Thankyou. I didn't know about that service and I'll look into it today. I have only been on the antidepressants for the last 3 months but I was diagnosed with extreme stress 8 months ago. I was unable to take tablets as I was breastfeeding.

I am generally, day to day okay but it's worse when I have to see any of the people who've submitted lies about me to try and win the tribunal for work (one person has been promoted after 'remembering' that I'd asked not to be contacted on mat leave!!). I have only read half of the witness statements so far as they're upsetting me so much - claiming I was unwilling to find childcare to come in for 'mandatory' meetings and that I had so much time off with high blood pressure they were looking to push me onto early maternity leave. I've had to give the court copies of my medical notes to prove I've never had high blood pressure and copies of my leave report to prove I never took a day off sick in my entire pregnancy. I don't understand why such lies are being told about me or how they think they have a case, and it upsets me that I have to sit through these fabricated witness statements and cross examine the very people that made my life hell.

What makes it almost laughable is that now I've been moved to a new department my senior manager has 'seen my potential' (I'm a mid level process manager) and wants to speak to me the same week as the tribunal to discuss a role to 'utilise my skills'! So I may well get a promotion a few days before my character is pulled apart in court. It's so confusing and unfair.

Thankyou for the advice and the good luck though!

Breathe.

I don't know anything about the tribunal process but what I'm getting from this is how overwhelmed, consumed and suffocated you are with this whole thing. You're nearly at the end so there's no point to pull out now - although I get the impression you are just looking for reassurance and to offload.

I don't mean this to sound flippant but have you tried meditation. Just some deep breathing techniques in a quiet place to clear your mind and calm yourself down.

Its almost over. It's just one (albeit sh!tty) chapter in your life. You have a family which is more important than any job.

This too shall pass.

Focus on this bit. That is your light at the end of the tunnel!

Do you work for a large company? These people telling lies are you going to have to work with them after?

Not sure how you will feel about that.

Good luck with it all, keep going till the end you have got this far, your new manager clearly sees your worth!

Well done for getting this far, try to hold your nerve. An employment tribunal is set up so that you are able to represent yourself, don't worry about their lawyer's they won't have the understanding of the case that you have.
The judge's tend to allow you more leniency when you rep yourself as they know you are not legally qualified so don't worry about that.
Prepare well and make sure your bundle is marked, tagged with the parts you want to refer too. Write a script if you need to, there is nothing worse than referencing a point and then not being able to find it. Prepare your questions for the witnesses and list against each name so you don't miss anything.
The set up is normally not as formal as a court room, you will be in a different room from employer prior to the case so don't worry about coming face 2 face with them and having to wait in the same room.
Also, don't be surprised if they make you a last minute offer just before the case, make sure you know what you would settle for so that you're not caught unprepared.
Finally, good luck, prepare well and as someone else said 'breathe'.

Don't worry about it. It seems you already have the judge on your side. The ET is very informal so just speak as you would when talking to a friend about what's been happening. Obviously don't swear or name-call anyone

You have not asked for anything outrageous, you just want an apology and the money you would have earned if you would have been at work.

As the e-mails of your "manager" asking HR for support to manage you out have been submitted to the court and she had actually never met you there is not really any chance that they can convince anyone that she did not discriminate against you.

The rest of the evidence you have described and her threatening phone calls to you should do the rest.

I don't see a reason why you shouldn't win your case and in addition it is likely that your employer will be told that it is their duty to prevent bullying (or in your case harassment as you were on mat leave) between their staff.

If worse comes to worse the fact that you are on antidepressants and would have been on them 8 months ago if it weren't for breast feeding is very close to making you disabled under the Equality Act and your employer has failed to make any reasonable adjustments or indeed failed to resolve the situation for months (they have now by moving you away from her but it is questionable to move you from your old job rather than her)... so this is another angle to use. It further could potentially enable you to seek damages, especially if you win the Tribunal case (and if you wanted to get more money out of them).

I work in HR and can tell you that any competently run company wouldn't risk the exposure of treating someone on maternity the way that you've described.

Obviously without knowing the full facts no one here can say for definite that your case would be successful but I would be surprised if there was anything other than a very harsh ruling against the company. If you have strong feedback running up to maternity then everything else afterwards should be fairly simple to label as discrimination.

Seriously, if you were working at my company and the manager wanted you out I reckon you'd be looking at a pay off of at least 75% your annual salary.

Thank you all so much for your comments, I do feel a little more positive now. I am (was) such a strong person and it's horrible to feel this way but yes, I do have evidence for a good 80%+ of the discrimination and sort of 'side evidence' for the rest (as in, I obviously don't have a call recording of an abusive call but I do have HR notes from where I've called them in tears following one, months before any tribunal was raised).

I work for a HUGE company, I can't obviously say who and if anyone guesses, please please don't say, I can do without that being used against me. Trust me, they are using EVERY angle to discredit me, despite my 10+ year history with the company always having good ratings, promotions and feedback. It's relentless. Luckily due to the restructure I see my old manager and her manager very rarely and when I do they blank me. If it wasn't for the gossip I wouldn't care too much about that, I'm a big girl but hearing such lies about myself isn't doing my head much good.

Apparently, on reading the disability link a kind poster provided earlier maternity leave is a 'protected status' and what I've suffered is on par with disability, gender and even race discrimination (obviously there are different levels of each). At first I didn't even realise it stupidly. I never ever imagined my company would allow me to be treated like this.

I raised a grievance against my manager which found against me. All my evidence was ignored and 'hearsay' used against me (the only hearsay being, of course, by my manager and her friends!). I even had an email from the grievance manager saying 'look, what do you want? your hours are sorted out can't you just drop it'. This grievance manager has been re aligned to be my ex boss' manager, something he would have been aware of at the time. And of course he didn't want to have a manager under him with a disciplinary under her belt. So he found against me despite written evidence. He even emailed me to tell me it wasn't company policy to apologise.

I just need to keep it together for court. I've booked a weekend away for when it's over!!

I only have second-hand experience of this sort of thing but send you my best wishes.

However I can't see their refusal to talk to ACAS going down well for your employer, and when you win, surely some existing staff will have serious questions to answer.

Hi reality rocks, I'm sorry to read of your situation. I an fairly well versed with Tribunals, having attended several in my career (never as the person actually brining one).

I know it's easier said than done, but relax. If what you are saying above is an accurate description of events, then it is cut and dried discrimination.

If you have been suffering from depression for longer than 12 months, it is classed as a disability and, as someone above said, the company have to make reasonable adjustments to your working conditions. If it hasn't lated for longee than 12 months then don't worry at all, because the biggest examples of discrimination in your case surround the treatment of you as a pregnant woman.

Whilst they can alter your role for operational reasons whilst you are on mat leave, they can't pressure you to leave. This is 100% discrimination.

The fact that they have used fabricated evidence against you be free makes their case look very bad.

Once you win (you will win), you should consider your options. Do you want to wor for a company like that? They may not even want you back. You could claim for constructive dismissal, take the pay out and look for another job or spend time with the kids.

You will win

^^^^^^^^^^^ Absolutely this. I think there`s a good chance that you could go for Constructive Dismissal should you decide to leave. I own a business myself and employ people (Granted it`s not a large blue chip company, but I have about 10 employees), and reading your story makes my blood boil. I find your employer`s attitude utterly abhorrent, and from what you have put, they appear to be completely culpable in the systematic bullying and prejudice of an employee, and it`s appears to have had a massive detrimental effect on your life. I`ve sued a company for unfair dismissal and won, and also I have also been a witness on behalf of a company I worked for when some ex employees tried to sue a company under TUPE. Go in there with your head held high, you really have nothing to worry about in reality. Good luck and don`t let the b@stards off the hook.

Just some thoughts.

RealityRocks states that "I can't afford to get a lawyer" so I was more than a little puzzled why they had not considered a no win no fee solicitor, or indeed why no one has suggested it seeing as everyone thinks RealityRocks has a sure dunk win in the bag.

I have one experience of someone using a no win no fee solicitor at an ET and they won their case and got a very high five figure payout. I am also surprised that more people don't have legal cover as part of their home insurance as that could then pay for the ET proceedings (it did in my case and I won).

Just wondering how the Tribunal was getting on?

Hi all, just to cover the no win no fee thing i wasn't aware I could do it until quite late on (my insurance doesn't cover it) and by the time I was no local solicitor either had the space or felt versed enough in maternity discrimination. Maybe it's to do with the company I work for, it's a big name with lots of money to fight people like me.

My court case is next week and LO and behold at the last minute the respondents solicitor has submitted a load of last minute evidence they 'just found' - mobile call records 'proving' my ex manager didn't call me as often as I said she did being the biggest, but they've omitted the call records of her landline desk phone, which have now been erased as they moved onto a new phone system.

I'm now prepping for court, I'm hoping for a settlement but if it doesn't happen I will hold my head high and try my best cross examining the witnesses and making my case clearly and without getting upset (I hope!). I'm not asking for one as I'm not desperate I just would prefer to avoid the hassle of court, but I have to think that whatever happens it will be over in a fortnight and I can concentrate on getting better and sorting out my career too. I don't trust the company despite what my new managers think of me, and I think I'd like a fresh start.

It's been horrible and I have the whole court hearing to go though yet but I am hopeful for the future whatever the outcome. I feel strangely calm even - maybe I am all worried out!!

Best of luck next week RealityRocks - it sounds horrific what you've been put through and I hope it works out for you.

Can you trace her landline calls from your mobile or landline logs?

Best of luck. I have been following your situation sincexthe beginning. Stay strong - you are in the right xx

Do bear in mind that it is possible the employer will offer to settle out of court just before the case is to be heard, as with all these things the employer will try every trick in the book to make the employee give up and go away before offering money.

If asked 'how much do you want to settle' start high as they will want to horse trade you down, so I would suggest starting with 12 months salary and you should eventually end up with what you want.

From what you have said you should have sufficient proof to rebut the lies, and any false 'witness statements'. Don't forget that Tribunal Judges are pretty savvy and can see through posturing from the respondent. Everything crossed for you, good luck.

Reality rocks your case is strong and you will win. The mobile phone record means nothing.

Before my preliminary hearing, ACAS provided me with a Vento band diagram stating the different types of discrimination and the likely compensation (you can only be compensated for injury to feelings). I was in band 2 which was I think, 6 to 16,000. So when the judge at the preliminary hearing asked what figure I placed on a desired compensation amount I picked £10,000 based on that and based on the 3 extra months of unpaid mat leave I had to take and the £1200 I've spent taking it to court.

The judge said in reply that it sounded a very reasonable request and he hoped that the company could 'sort it out' so it didn't have to 'drag on any longer'. He said he'd leave it with the respondent but the lawyer claimed no instruction had been given to settle and no offer would be made. That was four months ago and since then it's been mud slinging since then

I've been brave and read some of the witness statements, my ex managers manager false 'unwilling to be helped and uncooperative to a face to face meeting which could have resolved the matter' - I was on mat leave, I had no childcare and I felt uncomfortable being asked repeatedly to attend the office with the high likelihood of needing to breastfeed in front of my colleagues. Not once did they offer to visit me or meet via video conference (which this company uses every day as a matter of course). The grievance manager who investigated my managers conduct (and found against me, and is now her manager!) has admitted he 'did not feel the need' to check my evidence or witnesses as he 'had no reason not to trust' my manager. It's infuriating but it's good that the judge can see what rubbish I've been dealing with the past 14 months.

It's a waiting game now - I'm staying strong!

I'll echo other posts here and state that you have an extremely strong case OP. Having managed a lot of HR related issues over the years, your company has really dropped the ball here, your pregnancy and anti-depressant status alone give you a level of protected status and pretty much every competent manager knows you have to offer support to your staff, not alienate them. However, the good news (as much as there can be in this situation), is that the management have acted with incompetence every step of the way based on the evidence you've mentioned, putting some of their mistakes in writing is damning for them and the grievance managers confession is just as bad. Good luck!

That's very damning, as it demonstrates that their own procedure for resolving stuff isn't impartial. If he/she's giving evidence, I'd be asking him why he didn't treat all the evidence the same.

Just taking a manager's word for stuff is appallingly bad practice.

I'd think very long and hard about that bit, especially given the timing. Namely can you trust the company to treat you fairly after all they've put you through? I went through a similar experience when I had a personality clash with a new manager and they tried to manage me out. It's an unpleasent experience, but in my case gave me the incentive to set up my own business instead. Sometimes it's best to cut your losses and move on.