Stories

Gathered the evidence & went to court

I have been working for a Swiss institution for almost 4 years. My line manager was already a micro-manager, treating most of the employees like monkeys who needed to be civilized. I informed him on month 4 about my pregnancy, because I feared that it would soon start to show and he would find out as soon as it became visible. After taking a look at my belly, his reaction – and he pretended to be joking – was the following: “Isn’t there any legislation pointing out when you should inform the employer? Isn’t it too soon? You may still loose the baby.” I told him then that I was already over the critical 12 weeks, but of course things can go wrong any time. Then he looked at me once again and went on to congratulate me. Next time I heard anything about my pregnancy from him was in an email on Christmas Eve. He let me know that I wasn’t respecting the law and we would need to discuss what rights was I entitled to and what rights I wasn’t, including maternity leave after the winter holidays. He chose the time of the email perfectly. I had lost my beloved father few months before, which he knew, and it was the most difficult Christmas I was having. He made sure he would add to my suffering with this email, I am sure the timing was not a coincidence. It was then that I decided I would need to gather all the evidence I could and go to court if he was not respecting my rights.
In January we had discussed my “situation” which I know was considered and named a “risk” for all the institution and its set-up. His next step was to try to make me engage to come back to work as fast as possible, expecting some sort of a guarantee.
I know he treats all my colleagues like insects that need to be crushed, but I do believe that what he said and how he acted is abuse, harassment and it went beyond his previous behaviour in this case.
It remains to see how I am going to be treated once I opt for maternity leave but I am ready to sue him for his treatment, for all the pain and stress he has caused, in case he makes one more step to discriminate against me.
I believe that we will not be able to tackle the issue of workplace discrimination unless we take action against it, that is the most I can do in this particular case and I am going to take it seriously no matter what it takes! Not just for myself, but for my child also.

Stories

Never Miss Out {{ responseTitle }}

Sign up to the Pregnant Then Screwed mailing list so you can stay in the loop on our latest campaigns and achievements as well as tips on how you can help end The Motherhood Penalty {{ responseMessage }}
Whoops. The form is invalid.
  • {{ value }}.