And won a Whopping £60,000 in Compensation.
When Donna Patterson disclosed her pregnancy to her employer, she expected to receive support. What she got was a dismissive response.
Throughout her pregnancy, Donna faced workplace discrimination, and her attempts to resolve the issues were ignored or dismissed.
Eventually, Donna turned to Pregnant Then Screwed for help and, with their guidance, pursued legal action against her employer. Her bravery and perseverance paid off when she won her case at an employment tribunal, without legal representation, and was awarded £60,000 in compensation – a significant victory for working mothers everywhere.
Following her experience, Donna founded Let’s Talk Work, a service that provides support and advice to individuals facing difficult work situations. She assists people nationwide, regardless of whether they’re considering a tribunal hearing. Her expertise lies in guiding individuals through negotiations with their employers and in advising them on how to effectively communicate their concerns.
If negotiations fail, Donna can offer advice on the best course of action and share her experiences taking her employer to a tribunal.
Donna aims to empower people by explaining the process of making an employment tribunal claim step by step, making the information more accessible and understandable. She hopes her work will raise awareness and help others facing similar situations get the support they need.
Today, Elizabeth hosts Donna as they discuss what taking an employer to a tribunal really means and how individuals without the funds for legal assistance can still pursue justice.
Key Highlights
[00:00:00] Work It Like A Mum Podcast’s intro
[00:01:14] Today’s sponsor: Investing in Women
[00:01:52] Introduction to today’s guest: Donna Patterson, talking about taking your employer to the tribunal
[00:03:02] Background to the case before she took her employer to the tribunal
[00:06:31] Donna gets discriminated against in a bonus scheme
[00:10:03] Donna gets assigned a new role that isn’t part-time-friendly
[00:19:10] The grievance process
[00:20:32] Pregnant Then Screwed advice to Donna
[00:21:37] Why Donna was so resilient and never gave up on her case
[00:24:59] Working at Morrison while still pursuing the case
[00:31:21] Resigning from her job
[00:33:20] How Donna prepared for the case
[00:35:31] How she got her evidence together
[00:39:20] Preliminary hearing to submit the evidence to the judge
[00:43:34]How to stand up in court and cross-examine people and get cross-examined
[00:45:49] The outcome of the tribunal
[00:52:28] Let’s Talk Work, Donna’s foundation, and what it does
[00:53:48] How to connect with Donna
[00:55:39] Donna’s advice to people who have been treated unfairly by employers
[00:56:42] Work It Like A Mum Podcast’s outro
Notable Quotes
- In my life, across every aspect, I’m obsessed with fairness. I don’t want more than what’s fair, but I’ve always wanted to be treated fairly, and I’ve always wanted to treat others fairly. So I fundamentally disagreed with how I had been treated, and I think I just felt disappointed that, even though I had followed all the processes and done everything the right way, I wasn’t being treated fairly.
- One thing that I have learned is that keeping quiet and not complaining doesn’t do you any favours; you don’t get treated any better for it. I did that, and I still didn’t get treated properly.
- The key learning is if you are uncomfortable or you are not being treated right, say something about it because if your employer makes your life difficult or treats you any differently as a result of that complaint, that adds to any evidence that you might ever need at a later stage if you were to take legal action against your employer for treating you badly.
- You must document things via email before, during, and upon returning for maternity leave because all of that is critical information you can use as evidence when needed.
- I was conscious that many people out there don’t have the privileges that I have; they don’t have the time and the resources. They don’t feel mentally strong enough to go through it, and that’s not to say that I was mentally strong all of the time; it took its toll on me. But I felt that because I was in a situation where I felt I could fight back, that is what I was going to do, and I was going to do it on behalf of other people as well.
- You need a good support network around you. You need to avoid surrounding yourself with negative people who may be trying to do right by you by protecting you and telling you not to go ahead with what you’re about to do. You need to not listen to those people because you need positivity and encouragement all the way along to reach out to all of the resources that are out there.
- One reason I want to set up Let’s Talk Work is so that more people take action against employers so that the employers are forced to face the discriminatory behaviours and treatment that go on because, a lot of the time, they are not consciously done.
- I would say that by not raising the flag and bringing this to people’s attention, that’s allowing the behaviour of discrimination in workplaces to continue.
Show Links:
Work It Like A Mum Podcast website: Work It Like A Mum
Investing in Women Flexible Working Recruitment Website: Investing in Women
To connect with Elizabeth:
Facebook: Facebook
LinkedIn: LinkedIn
To connect with Donna:
LinkedIn: LinkedIn
Instagram: Instagram
Website: Let’s Talk Work