I’m currently 24 weeks pregnant and have been told by two of my senior managers that I have made errors in my work over the last few months, some of these “catastrophic”. In light of this my managerial duties have been distributed to others and I have been allocated more junior roles.

There has been no mention of poor performance in the past and I have had no reviews that have not been positive.

The reason they have for not mentioning any errors found earlier to me was that they blamed it on my “pregnancy brain” and that they have been “walking on eggshells” as they feel I have been “stressed” and “delicate”. They were apparently trying to “protect me” from any further stress.

They have also made it clear that I will not be given any family friendly hours or allowances if I was to return to this role citing operational pressures and funding.

I am now considering taking formal action for discrimination but with a baby 17 weeks away and still 7 weeks before I leave work for annual leave/maternity leave I really don’t want the awkwardness of having to work in an office with those people knowing I have put in a grievance.

I feel forced now to accept to return after my maternity leave in a more junior role as I do not feel welcome to maintain my current position.