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Due to the stress of travelling and being told I had no job I went into labour 10 days early

I worked for a company for 15 years working my way up from a sales assistant to a training coordinator and deputy area manager. I trained over 200 Staff and managers and earned the respect of all of the directors and managers at the age of 26. I had been married with a daughter when I started working for the company. Me and my husband decided to have another child in 2007 but after returning from maternity leave the attitude of my manager had changed towards me because he believed I was not committed to the company, I worked my butt off to prove myself again even though I had done this in the 15 years I had worked for them!! After a few months of being back at work I found out I was pregnant with my son, after I informed the company everything changed, they did not believe I could do the job and they made it obvious they did not want me to carry on working for them. Again, I proved I could do my job as well as any other member of staff but in mid 2008 my job was being restructured along with all the area manager position. I was very heavily pregnant at the time this was happening but as I was on maternity leave and the laws that protect me they should have kept a job open for me, this was not what happened. I was forced to travel to London for an interview at 8 months pregnant for my job and then told I had to go back up to London 2 weeks later to find out if I still had a job to go back to. At 8 and half months pregnant I was told that I had no job as I had not been successful in the interview. As the interview was for the same position I informed them I would be going to a solicitor and they would be hearing from him. Due to the stress of travelling and being told I had no job I went into labour 10days early. Fortunately my son was ok. After I had my son I fought for my job and the injustice of the way I was treated, I had an interview with the BBC (it is still on their website) and radio interviews to tell the world how pregnant women are treated in the workplace. I went to a tribunal to see if the company had to answer my complaint and if what they had and were doing was wrong, I was terrified!! The tribunal upheld all my complaint which was an amazing feeling!! I did not get my job back but after the way I was treated by the company and my colleagues (I was not the only woman this happened to) I decided that I would stay home and raise my children. The company did not get away with treating me the way they did and I really hope the interviews I did helped other people in my situation. I was treated like a second class person just because me and my husband wanted to have more children but when another area manager who was a man had a child he was congratulated yet I was put through hell!! At the start I never believed a company I put so much of my hard work and dedication into would treat me like that until it happened, I’m glad I stuck up for myself but this is the way organisations think they can treat pregnant women, if we do not fight for what’s right they will carry on doing it!!!!!

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