Tribunal: Female RAF officer discriminated against for pregnancy

June 4, 2010 by Shawn Douglas
Filed under: News

A military tribunal has found that a female Royal Air Force officer was discriminated against for being 12 weeks pregnant.

The officer, who wishes to remain anonymous, claimed that she was treated unfairly when she told her superiors that she was 12 weeks pregnant.

The tribunal heard that she had been removed from her post on the Falkland Islands and ordered to return to the U.K. despite the fact that her husband, also an RAF officer, was also serving on the island. Not only was she not able to be with her husband for the pregnancy, her removal also delayed an important performance review which set her promotion prospects back.

Yesterday the tribunal rejected the process, awarding the officer 16,000 pounds. The Equality & Human Rights Commission, which funded the officer’s case, said that the treatment issued by her superiors “had the effect of creating an intimidating, degrading, hostile or offensive environment for her.”

The tribunal also recommended that the Ministry of Defence review its policies of handling pregnant women in the military.

John Wadham, group director of legal affairs at the Equality & Human Rights Commission, told the Telegraph: “The Commission’s research has shown that pregnant women are the most discriminated group of people in the workforce, with 30,000 losing their jobs each year as a result of their pregnancy. Larger employers such as the Ministry of Defence should be leading the way in showing other organizations how to treat their pregnant workers.”

Two weeks ago Baby Chums wrote about the Ministry of Defence’s campaign to encourage military personnel to take extra precautions regarding sex. That story mentioned the Army’s policy of immediately sending home women who declare they’re pregnant. It’s unknown if this tribunal decision will inevitably alter the military’s stance on pregnant women.