RAF forced to pay for bias over pregnancy
AN RAF officer who claimed she was discriminated against when she was pregnant has been awarded more than £16,000 by an Employment Tribunal, the Equality and Human Rights Commission has said.
In a case funded by the Commission, the officer claimed she was removed from her job and had her promotion delayed because she was pregnant.
The officer, from Oxford, was on a posting in the Falkland Islands when she told her superiors she was 12 weeks pregnant.
The Tribunal, which took place in Reading, heard her request to stay on in her desk-based job was denied despite her husband, also an RAF officer, being based on the island and she was ordered to return to the UK immediately.
Law firm Leigh Day & Co, who represented the officer, said as she wanted to be with her husband during her pregnancy she was forced to take leave to return to the Falkland Islands.
This meant she missed out on a performance review, delaying her promotion prospects.
Yesterday, the Equality & Human Rights Commission (EHRC) revealed that the Tribunal ruled the RAF had discriminated against the officer because of her pregnancy.
They said the way she had been treated "had the effect of creating an intimidating, degrading, hostile or offensive environment for her", though this was not intentional on their part, the EHRC said.
The Tribunal also recommended the Ministry of Defence carry out individual risk assessments for every pregnant woman in the armed forces.