12 hours ago
Sergeant sues RAF after missing promotion chance when pregnant
A sergeant is suing the RAF for discrimination after she missed out on promotion because a fitness test got cancelled when she was pregnant.
Sgt Haylee Curtis is taking RAF bosses to an employment tribunal as she claims that she was unable to advance rank without a fitness test, which was cancelled.
Her official medical records stated it was cancelled three days before the test 'due to being pregnant', a hearing was told.
Sgt Curtis has now been given permission to sue the Ministry of Defence after winning an appeal at the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT).
Her pregnancy discrimination case had been thrown out at an employment tribunal in Watford, but the EAT ruled that legal mistakes had been made in the dismissal of the original claim.
The appeal hearing in London was told that Sgt Curtis alleges that she was discriminated during her pregnancy and maternity leave during 2017 and into 2018.
She was a corporal at the time, and was eligible for promotion to sergeant and had to wait for a vacancy.
The tribunal heard that she had injured herself playing netball and was medically downgraded, with a full fitness certificate required to apply for opportunities at the sergeant rank.
She was due to attend the medical board in August 2017, so that she could have her fitness tested but it was cancelled because of her pregnancy.
The EAT heard that Sgt Curtis believed that 'the cancellation of her medical board appointment, was discriminatory'.
Sgt Curtis has since been promoted to sergeant, but she claimed that the discrimination 'had long term consequences for her career and career earnings'.
She said that her career extension – referring to the period of career security service personnel are afforded, and whether it will be lengthened beyond an initial contracted term – would have been 'significantly longer' if she had been promoted at an earlier date.
