Declined job due to being pregnant

[miabushy]

hi,

My partner recently applied for a job at a nursery. She went to interview, all went well, she got a call up interview to do a practical session with the children etc. Later that after her 1st interview the nursery rang up and question her on whether she was pregnant. Now i told her not to tell them, as i knew this would happen and you dont have to tell your employer until 15 weeks before its due, anyways, they said some BS about a risk assessment. She then went in for a whole day, they counted her in the ratio, even though she had no further background checks etc. She worked the whole day, only to find out they would not pay her and was told she would be contacted "within a day or 2" about working there.

Now from what i understand about employment law and the EC pregnancy directive this could be seen as discrimation on the grounds of sex and pregnancy (as you cant be a man and be discriminated for being pregnant)

Does anyone else agree that we might have a case here? i am going to contact them and ask them what they are playing at.

Any suggestions or advice will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance!

Ashley

 

[NickyT75]

Has she actually been turned down for the position?

 

[MrsRH]

depends if she has been formally offered the job, then turned down due to being pregnant.
If there is no agreement or signed contract, it's going to be very difficult to prove one way or the other.

It might be worth speaking to the CAB who have knowledge on employment law.

 

[MrsRH]

also if the days 'work' was an assessment she probably wont get paid

 

[NickyT75]

depends if she has been formally offered the job, then turned down due to being pregnant.
If there is no agreement or signed contract, it's going to be very difficult to prove one way or the other.

It might be worth speaking to the CAB who have knowledge on employment law.

Actually I found the CAB no help at all when I was in a similar situation... (I was sacked for going home after being sick 5 times due to morning sickness) I waited 4 hrs to speak to someone only to be told id have to take legal advice as they didnt have the relevant experience to help me

They basically said "ring ACAS"

Ive since seen a solicitor who told me it was a clear case of 'automatic wrongful dismissal & sexual discrimination' & am awaiting compensation


To the OP - I agree it will be very difficult to prove anything if they didnt actually offer her the job but if you feel strongly about it id suggest contacting a solicitor to see what they can advise you

Good luck!

 

[faille]

I don't think you can do anything unless she was formerly offered the job and they found out afterwards that she was pregnant, and then withdrew the offer.

But I'm not a professional so would be best to speak to a solicitor!

 

[miabushy]

thank you all so much for your replies.

I think i will just give them a call and give them a piece of my mind.

Ashley

 

[MrsRH]

depends if she has been formally offered the job, then turned down due to being pregnant.
If there is no agreement or signed contract, it's going to be very difficult to prove one way or the other.

It might be worth speaking to the CAB who have knowledge on employment law.

Actually I found the CAB no help at all when I was in a similar situation... (I was sacked for going home after being sick 5 times due to morning sickness) I waited 4 hrs to speak to someone only to be told id have to take legal advice as they didnt have the relevant experience to help me

They basically said "ring ACAS"

Ive since seen a solicitor who told me it was a clear case of 'automatic wrongful dismissal & sexual discrimination' & am awaiting compensation


To the OP - I agree it will be very difficult to prove anything if they didnt actually offer her the job but if you feel strongly about it id suggest contacting a solicitor to see what they can advise you

Good luck!

sorry you had no luck with the CAB.. they have to deal with an awful lot of different queries. they can't be right all the time
There's a CAB in most high streets and they are a lot less scary than going straight to an employment lawyer and also FREE.
A good place to start.............. and just a suggestion
x

 

[Bexbex999]

They are not even allowed to ask if she is pregnant, the minute they asked that they were in trouble. I am a retail manager and have the delighful job of hiring and firing so I know they are in the wrong.

If she hasnt already, ask her to contact the workplace for a reson as to why she didnt get the job.

 

[Foogirl]

I'd second that. They cannot ask if she was pregnant and they cannot refuse to offer her a job because of it. Of course, they can always say there were other reasons, but I would suggest the fact they asked is a good indicator that it was a factor.

However, I do have a certain amount of sympathy for them as if I was hiring someone I wouldn't be happy to only have them working for me for a few months before going on maternity leave, potentially for a year and having to go through the process again of hiring someone to fill in.

Still the law is the law. It might be worth calling an employment law specialist and ask the question.