Over the last few months we have had some great wins for our helpline! Every woman we advise and empower is a win. But we love it when we can tell you a little bit more about what happens after helpline calls come in

Recently two Mums we helped took their employers to court and won! This is no mean feat, less than 1% of the women who experience pregnancy and maternity discrimination wind up taking their case to court so huge congratulations are in order for Kate Lidster and Alice Thompson. 

Kate was demoted when she returned from maternity leave by the UK Research Institute after working there for seven years. Kate’s daughter was born 2 months prematurely and she was diagnosed with PTSD after the birth. As if this wasn’t enough to deal with, when she spoke to her employer about returning to work she had been demoted, and her original role given to someone else. After working so hard to get to that point in her career, she was knocked back and diminished because she had dared to procreate. 

Kate spoke to us, and our helpline advised of her rights. She went on to take the UKRI to court with her husband representing her instead of paying for legal council. She won her case and was awarded £23,000 plus damages. We are delighted with her outcome and she is now happily employed elsewhere. The court process is arduous and we absolutely applaud her for her dedication to getting what she deserved. Read more.

Alice Thompson had built her career as an estate agent for over a decade. She wanted to be able to leave work earlier in order to pick up her daughter from nursery. Her flexible working request was not considered properly and shot down by her employer. She never received a counter offer for her request or the option to come up with an alternative flexible working arrangement. We assisted her through our free legal advice line when she was first exploring her legal options and then through our mentorship program as she went through her legal journey, and she won a total of £185,00. Read more.

We are working towards changing the laws and regulations around maternity discrimination so that in the future cases like this are resolved long before the court stage. But in the meantime we are here to support you all.

If you need advice get in touch on 0161 2229879.

By Taryn Robinson & Lauren Fabianski

7th October 2021