Latest news with #DisabilityDiscriminationAct1995
The Independent
26-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Maternity leave sex discrimination case settled for £215,000
A woman who alleged she was discriminated against for not being given the opportunity for promotion while on maternity leave has settled the case for £215,000. Maeve Bradley took the case against her former employer, Citibank N.A. UK, supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. The case was settled without admission of liability. Mrs Bradley worked for Citibank in Belfast as an assistant vice president until she went on maternity leave in the spring of 2023. She believed she was in line for a promotion on her return. Ahead of her return, Mrs Bradley contacted a manager to let them know she had applied for reduced hours due to childcare needs. Mrs Bradley said she was offered an alternative role but was not comfortable with this suggestion as she had no experience of the new position. She said she asked if anybody on the team had been promoted and was told that the person covering her maternity leave had been promoted to a vice president role. She said she believed this to be unlawful, as she was not given the opportunity for promotion while on maternity leave. Mrs Bradley raised a formal grievance which was not upheld. She said the company advised that performance is the deciding factor for whether someone gets promoted. Mrs Bradley issued legal proceedings alleging sex discrimination. Later she brought a further two claims alleging sex and disability discrimination and victimisation. These were based on the time taken to deal with her grievance and her belief that there was a lack of adequate effort to support her return to work. Mrs Bradley did not return to work and her employment with Citibank was terminated as part of the settlement. She said: 'For me, this experience has been incredibly stressful and disheartening. 'It came as quite a shock, that the individual hired to cover my role was promoted in my absence. 'I felt compelled to challenge this decision, not just for myself, but to ensure that no other woman is penalised for taking time off to have a child.' Geraldine McGahey, chief commissioner at the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, said: ' Issues around pregnancy and maternity in the workplace continue to be the most common complaints of sex discrimination made to the commission. 'The laws protecting women from sex discrimination were introduced almost 50 years ago to ensure women can return to and remain in the workforce and not be disadvantaged because of pregnancy or family responsibilities. 'Maeve should have been considered for the promotion.' In settling the case, Citibank affirmed its commitment to equality of opportunity in employment and to ensuring that its policies, procedures and practices comply in all respects with its obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Sex Discrimination Northern Ireland Order 1976, and to ensure that staff are aware of these obligations. The company agreed to liaise with the commission to review its equal opportunities policies, procedures and practices relating to the treatment of employees on maternity leave in Northern Ireland. A spokesperson for Citi said: 'We were keen to retain Ms Bradley as an employee at Citi and are disappointed that we were unable to reach an agreement on her return to work. 'We appreciate the engagement of Ms Bradley and the Equality Commission in resolving this matter. 'At Citi, we strive to foster an inclusive workplace, ensuring that our standards are well understood and complied with by everyone at Citi is a continuous, proactive process.'
The Independent
26-03-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Former Citibank employee settles sex discrimination case for £215,000
A woman who alleged sex discrimination after she was not given the opportunity for promotion while on maternity leave has settled the case for £215,000. Maeve Bradley took the case against Citibank N.A. UK, supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland. The case was settled without admission of liability. Mrs Bradley worked for Citibank in Belfast as an assistant vice president. In the spring of 2023, she went on maternity leave and believed she was in line for a promotion on her return. Ahead of her return, Mrs Bradley contacted a manager to let them know she had applied for reduced hours due to childcare needs. Mrs Bradley said she was offered an alternative role but was not comfortable with this suggestion as she had no experience of the new position. She said she asked if anybody on the team had been promoted and was told that the person covering her maternity leave had been promoted to a vice president role. She said she believed this to be unlawful, as she was not given the opportunity for promotion while on maternity leave. Mrs Bradley raised a formal grievance which was not upheld. She said the company advised that performance is the deciding factor for whether someone gets promoted. Mrs Bradley issued legal proceedings alleging sex discrimination. Later she brought a further two claims alleging sex and disability discrimination and victimisation. These were based on the time taken to deal with her grievance and her belief that there was a lack of adequate effort to support her return to work. Mrs Bradley did not return to work and her employment with Citibank was terminated as part of the settlement. She said: 'For me, this experience has been incredibly stressful and disheartening. 'It came as quite a shock, that the individual hired to cover my role was promoted in my absence. 'I felt compelled to challenge this decision, not just for myself, but to ensure that no other woman is penalised for taking time off to have a child.' Geraldine McGahey, chief commissioner at the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, said: ' Issues around pregnancy and maternity in the workplace continue to be the most common complaints of sex discrimination made to the commission. 'The laws protecting women from sex discrimination were introduced almost 50 years ago to ensure women can return to and remain in the workforce and not be disadvantaged because of pregnancy or family responsibilities. 'Maeve should have been considered for the promotion.' In settling the case, Citibank affirmed its commitment to equality of opportunity in employment and to ensuring that its policies, procedures and practices comply in all respects with its obligations under the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 and the Sex Discrimination Northern Ireland Order 1976, and to ensure that staff are aware of these obligations. The company agreed to liaise with the commission to review its equal opportunities policies, procedures and practices relating to the treatment of employees on maternity leave in Northern Ireland. A spokesperson for Citi said: 'We were keen to retain Ms Bradley as an employee at Citi and are disappointed that we were unable to reach an agreement on her return to work. 'We appreciate the engagement of Ms Bradley and the Equality Commission in resolving this matter. 'At Citi, we strive to foster an inclusive workplace, ensuring that our standards are well understood and complied with by everyone at Citi is a continuous, proactive process.'
The Guardian
02-03-2025
- Health
- The Guardian
Young people with cancer in England face seven-month wait for disability benefits
Young people with cancer in England are waiting an average of seven months before receiving disability benefits to support their treatment, research shows, prompting calls for people with a diagnosis to qualify for help immediately. Research by the charity Young Lives shows the families of children with cancer on average face almost £700 each month in additional expenses during their treatment. The Equalities Act 2010 (in England, Scotland and Wales) and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 (in Northern Ireland) consider a diagnosis of cancer as a disability. But young people with cancer and their families must wait three months before being eligible to receive disability benefits, even with a confirmed diagnosis. Once they can apply, they face an average four-month wait before receiving a decision on any financial support. The first months after a cancer diagnosis can require an immediate financial outlay and the system does not allow people to receive backdated payments. If someone is expected to live 12 months or less, they do not need to meet the three-month qualifying period to be eligible, with special rule exemptions applied. Oliver, a 16-year-old from Solihull, was diagnosed with a rare form of bone cancer in his leg last year. Tests revealed it was Adamantinoma and he had to have his leg amputated. 'They told me Oliver wasn't ill enough to claim [benefits] – even though he had cancer and had his leg off,' his mother, Kerry, said. She applied for benefits support in April last year, and was given an outcome in September, five months later. 'The hospital is an hour away from us and I don't drive. It was costing us £48 a day for us to travel in taxis there and back.' The family needed to buy new clothes to fit Oliver, and faced higher electricity costs to charge his prosthetic leg. 'Ollie's leg needs electricity as it is micro processing. If I don't have electricity, he can't walk.' Kerry also needed to heat the house more too to keep Oliver warm. 'He had immunosuppression for six months and so the house had to be heated constantly. It's completely financially broken me,' she said. Danielle Roberts, from north Wales, applied for disability living allowance in January 2024 after her nine-year-old daughter, Jasmine, was diagnosed with cancer in October 2023. Sign up to First Edition Our morning email breaks down the key stories of the day, telling you what's happening and why it matters after newsletter promotion Roberts did not receive any financial support until five months later in June 2024; eight months after her child was diagnosed. They live an hour and 15 minutes away from the hospital – a 120-mile round trip – so every journey back and forth would cost about £30 in fuel. Roberts said this, on top of food costs while in hospital and extra heating bills while her daughter was home, all mounted up. Research by Young Lives found 96% of young people with cancer and their families incur additional travel costs after diagnosis, on average £250 a month. The charity is calling on the government to scrap the three-month qualifying period for children and young people with cancer to claim disability benefits and for the system to be simple, efficient and streamlined, utilising medical evidence to quickly determine eligibility for patients. A Department for Work and Pensions spokesperson said: 'We are committed to ensuring people can access financial support through personal independence payment and disability living allowance for children in a timely manner. 'But we recognise waits are too high, and we have increased the number of staff to respond to the increase in claim volumes.'
