The Complaint
"I burst into tears when I found the termination letter on my desk, although I expected that it would happen really soon," said Vivian, who had worked as a clerk for a small trading company in the past three years.

"After my first year working with the company, they were so happy with my performance that they awarded me a permanent contract. I can't believe things had changed so drastically in such a short period of time as they began a series of retaliations just because I got pregnant!" As soon as Vivian served the pregnancy notice early this year, the company tried to talk her into signing a new 9-month fixed-term contract which was due to expire shortly after her maternity leave. When the company made known to her that the contract was not renewable, she duly refused to sign it.

"Since then, the general manager suddenly became critical of my work performance. She picked on me over trivial matters and worst of all, she accused me of making mistakes well before my pregnancy," she went on in a distressed tone. "Though her attitude was bad, I never would have expected to be made redundant right after my maternity leave. Not to my surprise, they hired a replacement soon after I left. I kept asking myself why people could be so willful. What have I done wrong? Just because I got pregnant? It's just so unfair."

What the EOC did
Vivian lodged a complaint with the EOC against her employer and general manager for pregnancy discrimination. She provided a detailed record of events that was related to the complaint to the EOC investigator. Before the investigation commenced, the general manager, who also represented his company to respond to the complaint, opted for early conciliation in resolving the dispute.

Presided over by an EOC conciliator, the parties involved went through three rounds of conciliation meetings before reaching a consensus for resolution. Vivian accepted an apology, a reference letter and a monetary compensation equivalent to six months' salary as the settlement terms. The complaint was successfully conciliated within two months.

What the law says
Under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (SDO), it is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against an employee on the ground of her pregnancy. The general manager in this case, who knowingly aids such an unlawful act, is also liable for unlawful discrimination. Employers have to take note of their different practices in handling staff prior to and after pregnancy. Any unfavourable treatment of pregnant staff could be inferred as unlawful pregnancy discrimination.

Source: Equal Opportunities Commission