A former Citibank employee has received £215,000 in a discrimination settlement after she lost out on an expected promotion when she returned from having a baby.
Maeve Bradley, who had worked at the American bank’s offices in Belfast as an assistant vice-president of derivatives since March 2021, took maternity leave in 2023 and said she was devastated to be offered a different role on her return.
The person covering her leave was given the promotion Bradley had anticipated.
The settlement in Northern Ireland was made with no admission of liability by Citi, which said it was disappointed that it could not retain Bradley.
The case has prompted renewed concern over sex discrimination. The head of the Equality Commission in Northern Ireland said it continued to receive 1,000 complaints a year on the issue, five decades after legislation to protect women’s rights were introduced.
Bradley, who has worked in the financial sector for 13 years, said: “I really enjoyed managing the people that I worked with. I was very comfortable in my role. I worked hard in my role and made myself where I wanted to be in my career.”
She told RTÉ: “I was told that my job would be re-levelled for whenever I came back from maternity leave to the higher level, so I was assistant vice-president and it would change to a vice-president role.”
But when she contacted her manager to discuss her return and reduced hours due to childcare needs, she was offered an alternative role and learned the promotion she had expected had been given to the person who had covered her leave. “I was devastated, really devastated,” she said.
She added: “All I did was have a baby. I loved my job, I wanted to return to my job.”
She raised a formal grievance under internal procedures but this was not upheld, prompting her to issue legal proceedings alleging sex discrimination and two further claims.
The case was settled through mediation before a scheduled employment tribunal.
Her case was supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, which said issues around pregnancy and maternity in the workplace continued to be the most common challenge, representing 25% of all complaints.
Geraldine McGahey, chief commissioner, told RTÉ: “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.”
She said the law entitled women to go on maternity leave and have the right to come back to the same job as they were in before they left.
A spokesperson for Citi said: “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.”
