After winning a work tribunal, Nicola Hinds has said that the ruling felt “bittersweet”. In February, a judge ruled that Ms Hinds had been unfairly constructively dismissed and discriminated against by her manager, Nav Kalley, who described her as “emotional and tearful” during her pregnancy. Ms Hinds, who was a senior regional manager at facilities management company Mitie, said that after informing them of the pregnancy, attitudes shifted and she was “heavily encouraged” to take on a more administrative role. Her workload subsequently increased, and attempts to raise her concerns with line managers were ignored, leading to several panic attacks.
In an email shown to the employment tribunal, Mr Kalley said “I was expecting this email as Nicola has become very emotional and tearful especially over the last week or so. I am very frustrated with this as she is certainly not overworked and we have been very supportive in helping her manage her workload.” The tribunal said he had been “stereotyping” Ms Hinds as an “emotional, hormonal pregnant woman” and had wanted to be seen as supportive when “he effectively wanted her out of the way as soon as possible”.
While Ms Hinds said the result was what she had hoped for, hearing it had felt “sad”. She hopes her case will inspire other employers to scrutinise their own policies and leaders. Mitie told the BBC it could not comment on individual legal cases.
Ms Hinds said she had a great career at Mitie, which provides services such as security for many national organisations, including the BBC. However, she felt ignored and was portrayed as “hormonal” during her pregnancy. Ms Hinds said the language her manager used to describe her was hurtful and the problems continued throughout her maternity leave until her eventual return to work. But due to further issues and the way she was being treated, Ms Hinds was constructively dismissed, meaning she was forced to leave her job against her will due to her employer’s conduct
Read the full article from The BBC here: Read More