An employment tribunal has ruled that a former Citibank employee was discriminated against for a promotion during her maternity leave.
Maeve Bradley held the role of assistant vice president at Citibank in Belfast when she took maternity leave in 2023. She believed she would be in line for a promotion when she returned to work after having her baby.
Prior to her return to the office, Bradley applied for reduced hours because of her childcare needs. When she contacted her management about this request, she was offered an alternative role rather than returning to her job with fewer working hours, but felt uncomfortable as she had no experience of the other post.
Bradley asked management if anyone on her team had been promoted and was told the person covering her job had been promoted to vice president. She argued that this was unlawful because she had not been given the opportunity for promotion while on maternity leave, and was told that performance was the deciding factor regarding promotions.
Following this, she raised a formal grievance, but the firm did not uphold her complaint. She then issued legal proceedings, alleging sex discrimination, disability discrimination and victimisation.
The case was settled without admission of liability and Bradley won £215,000 in a discrimination settlement.
A Citi spokesperson 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.”
