Mother �forced to quit� over maternity claims
A Perth medical professional says she was forced to quit her job after returning from maternity leave as her employer threatened to cut her entitlements and enforce "unfair" work hours.
The woman, who only wished to be known as Juliet, was replaced during the birth of her first child and, when she returned, was told she was only required one day a week.
She also faced new contractual obligations, including a performance assessment, and cuts to her annual and conference leave.
Juliet said resuming her full-time position, an option available by law, would have left insufficient time to care for the baby. But she needed to work more than one day a week to maintain her qualifications as a specialist.
"I was very upset," Juliet said. "It's an emotional time: you're tired and you've got a young child and having to face hostile negotiations with somebody is upsetting."
Juliet said she was bullied into quitting when she didn't want to.
"There was no compromise offered to me," she said.
An interim Australian Human Rights Commission report showed one in two Australian women experienced discrimination in the workplace during their pregnancy, parental leave or on return to work.
