Pay rise refused due to maternity leave approaching!

An employee of a construction company was unfairly refused a wage increase because she was about to go on maternity leave, a tribunal ruled. The former employee felt “disillusioned” by the decision of her employer to refuse her pay rise request because she would only be working for four months before going on leave.  She said that “instead of seeing her pregnancy and impending maternity leave as a happy time to be enjoyed, it was tainted with mixed feelings as it was the stated cause of the reason she was initially refused the pay rise”.

She went on maternity leave with her first child for a period of ten months and while on leave, a more junior team member also went on maternity leave and the company recruited a fixed-term employee. The employer’s intention was to pay £27,000 per annum to the person covering. The successful candidate, asked for £28,000 and the company agreed in order to fill the vacancy. When the maternity cover employee became employed permanently, her salary decreased to £27,000.

The tribunal heard that former employee found it “deeply unfair” and the fact that there was only a £3,000 difference between her salary as a senior team member compared to the maternity cover’s more junior role “undervalued her work and her experience”.  The line manager agreed to make a business case for a raise, although the tribunal found that it was a “very generalised discussion” prompted by the former employees request for a wage increase.

The line manager produced a revised business proposal that said a wage increase of £2,000 would be possible in return for her assuming additional responsibilities.  She then went on sick leave after her GP produced a certificate saying that her illness was caused by “work-related stress in pregnancy”. She then raised a grievance setting out her unhappiness surrounding the unfair pay differential between her job and the maternity cover role, which she later brought to tribunal.

The judge found that the refusal of a pay rise was unfavourable treatment and an act of “overt discrimination”. She added “Even if she was not entitled to a pay rise, the refusal to exercise discretion in favour of giving a pay rise because of impending maternity leave is clearly unfavourable.” The tribunal awarded the former employee £9,000 for injury to feelings.

121 HR Solutions on 0800 9995 121 provides practical advice and support in such situations and can be contacted at enquiries@121hrsolutions.co.uk.