Equality Commission for Northern Ireland
Maeve Bradley said it was “a shock” when the person who covered his maternity leave was promoted in his absence
A woman who accepted £ 215,000 in a discrimination regulations said that she had taken the case to ensure that no other woman was “penalized for having taken time for a child”.
Maeve Bradley held the role of deputy vice-president of Citibank in Belfast when she took maternity leave in 2023.
She allegedly alleged that she had been excluded from an opportunity to promote during her maternity leave, while the company rather promoted the person who had covered his absence.
The case was settled without admission of responsibility.
The complainant was supported in the discrimination file against her former employer by the equality committee for Northern Ireland.
The commission said Ms. Bradley thought she was queuing for a promotion when she returned to work after having her baby.
But before returning to the office, she asked for reduced hours due to her child care needs.
When she contacted management about this request, she was offered another role rather than returning to her own work with fewer hours of work.
The commission said it was not comfortable with this suggestion because it had no experience from the other position.
At that time, she asked management if someone in her team had been promoted and was informed that the person covering his assistant vice-president had been promoted vice-president.
Ms. Bradley argued that this decision was illegal because she had not had the possibility of promoting maternity leave.
Geraldine McGahey, of the Equality Commission, said that Maeve should have been considered for the promotion
She raised an official grievance with the company, but he did not maintain his complaint.
She said the company had informed that performance was the decisive factor to find out if someone was promoted.
She then pronounced legal proceedings against the cabinet, alleging sexual discrimination, discrimination and victimization of disability.
The commission said that these cases were based on “time taken to face its grievance and its conviction that there was a lack of adequate efforts to support its return to work”.
Bradley told BBC News or that she had loved her work and the people she worked with.
“Everything was always perfect on my performance every year, there was never a complaint,” she said.
“All I did was to leave and have a little baby. I expected to come back and return to work as any mother does.
“I think the company could have appreciated the women and mothers appreciated, and make them feel that their skills are important, that they were leaving to have a baby.”
The whole experience had been incredibly stressful and discouraging, she added.
Current complaints
The commissioner of the commission, Geraldine McGahey, said that the questions relating to pregnancy were the most common complaints of sexual discrimination that she receives.
“Laws protecting women from sexual discrimination were introduced almost 50 years ago to ensure that women can return and stay on the job market and not be disadvantaged due to pregnancy or family responsibilities,” said McGahey.
“Maeve should have been considered for the promotion.”
Donal McCann
Citi, which has offices in Belfast, is the largest employer in the financial services in Northern Ireland
The case was settled by Citibank without admission of responsibility and the employment of Ms. Bradley with the company was terminated within the framework of the regulations.
A spokesperson for Citi said: “We were eager to keep Ms. Bradley as an employee of Citi and are disappointed that we could not conclude an agreement on his return to work.
“We appreciate the commitment of Ms. Bradley and the Equality Commission in the resolution of this case.
“At Citi, we strive to promote an inclusive workplace. Ensure that our standards are well understood and respected by everyone in Citi is a continuous and proactive process.”
