Anyway I want to tell you about something that happened to me a little over two years ago - and really has not been settled until this year and has had a huge impact on my life.
It involves standing up for something I believe in to the core of my being. I grew up believing that everyone should be treated equal. Now I should warn you before I start that I am not always the most politically correct in my terminology and in my wordage, however thats me and I refuse to become anything different. If I change myself to be politically correct I lose the passion and determination that makes me, quite frankly me...... Now what I mean by treated equal is that is doesn't matter how much money you have, or where you work, if you are a Vice President or a Janitor you still should be treated equally. It shouldn't matter the colour of your skin or if you are a man or a women. You have equal access to the same rights, and freedoms granted to you by the country that we live in.
So a little over a year and a half ago I experienced the first form of blatant discrimination I have ever experienced in my entire life. I was discriminated based on the fact that I was pregnant or that I had a baby. You have to know me to understand that I am a very career driven young intellectual woman. My career is everything to me, or it used to be before this event happened. Now for legal reasons I am going to have to fudge some information for you. I can't tell you the name of the company or the industry but I can describe some of the feelings, and actions that were taken to correct the unjust that I experienced.
I began working at this company under the premise that I was pregnant. I was honest with them and told them I was having a baby. They awarded me the contract on an renewable basis and gave me a task to achieve prior to my maternity leave. I started in the January of 2008 and was due to go on maternity leave June 2008. I loved working at this company. I loved the people - I felt like I was at home everyday. When June came around they threw me a lovely baby shower that made me cry with excitement and nervousness. They hired someone to take over my position for the duration of my maternity leave and I actually trained that individual to do my job.
I wanted to return early from my maternity leave and made it known before I left in the June that I wanted to come back early. After Christmas of 2008 at the end of January I provided two weeks notice of my wish to return to work. My son would have been about 7 months old at the time. The company agreed that it was ok for me to return to work and my boss asked me to meet with him for lunch. At this lunch I was told that the team had grown significantly while I was on maternity leave and that there was no need for two Project Managers (ie: myself and the individual who replaced me on my maternity leave). I was told that the other individual would keep the PM post and I would be put in a different position - official title unknown but it might be something like Implementation Manager or Implementation Specialist. I was a little uneasy but said ok and two weeks later returned to work.
Upon my return to work, I did not have email, a designated phone line, a title, or most importantly a contract. See my initial contract had expired in the January of 2009, I returned to work on the 2nd of February 2009. However throughout my initial employment period I was praised for my work in the community and paid maternity leave top up payments on the premise that I was going to return. After about a month to six weeks of working I still had not received a new contract or a new job title for that matter. However what I did have was the lady who replaced me, who thought she was now my boss.
I never did receive my original job back and after 6 months of asking for the position and being told that they wanted me long term but couldn't take the other individual out of my initial position I gave up. I was defeated..... and so I left. Probably not the best decision I have ever made in my life but the right decision for me.
After about 6 months of contemplating what to do I decided to seek action against the organization. What I mean by that is that I filed an employment standards case against them. There are three ways of pursuing legal action against an organization when they discriminate: -
1. File an employment standards suit
2. File a human rights case against them
3. Or plain out sue them using by way of a usually costly litigation suit.
In most cases the organization will always try and settle with the individual. They don't need the bad press.
But let me make one thing clear to all females who have suffered through this injustice....... if you go on maternity leave and your original position that you left is still present or currently being fulfilled by another individual in the firm - it is illegal not to offer the position back to you. If however the position no longer exists the organization has to offer you a position based on the following four criteria:
1. Same location
2. Same hours
3. Same pay
4. Same level of responsibility
They have to give you a job that offers you the same level of career progression and same level of responsibility. They are also obliged to offer you pay increases should your salary increase while you are on maternity leave.
I can't tell you how often women in the work force get made redundant or get "shafted" when it comes time to return to their position, and quite frankly I am appauled that the government lets this happen.
Well actually - I can't tell you how many women during my battle with this event told me that they wouldn't even bother following it up, that I was better off out of the organization. Whilst I agree that I was better off being out of the organization, I can't possibly agree with the not following up. WHAT THEY DID WAS ILLEGAL. And what I had to ask myself was if I had a daughter would I want her to have to experience this. My answer was no I wouldn't.
Now if you are after a cash grab.... I am not promoting this. By filing an employment standards or a human rights claim against the organization, puts a so called "black mark" on the organizations file. So that if a similar incident occurs that a pattern can be established.
It wasn't a money thing for me, let me just put it out there, it was about standing up for what I believe in, and making sure that the organization never does this to another female employee.
If you need any advice or want to be pointed in the right direction in order to pursue your own claim please feel free to ask questions. You have up to three years after the incident to make a claim just remember that. Also if you are currently in that same position and you are at the same company they will hold your job while the process is going on. Now I know how uncomfortable that is but it is worth it.
For all of those women out there who didn't believe in me, or didn't believe I should take the case further you were WRONG. It was the right thing to do and whilst I am not happy I had to do it. It was the right thing to do. I promise you that.......
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