The Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC) will support working mother Katharina Tofeji in her fight to overturn a tribunal’s sex discrimination judgment in favour of investment bank BNP Paribas.  The EOC will be funding the appeal to clarify the legal rights of women upon return from maternity leave.
 
Ms Tofeji had worked for the bank for over five years, as a senior sales dealer.  A high flyer, who had been considered very successful prior to taking maternity leave, Ms Tofeji experienced far-ranging problems upon her return to work.
 
Ms Tofeji argues that following her maternity leave she was placed in a vulnerable position and at a considerable disadvantage as a result of her absence. For example on the day of her return, Ms Tofeji discovered that there were no immediate plans to return the clients she had successfully built up during her time at the bank. Instead she was told to justify the return of any of her clients.
 
The appeal will argue that the employment tribunal decision wrongly compared Ms Tofeji's treatment with how she would have been treated had she been a man, with a similar length of absence.  Pregnant women are in a unique position, so it is not the correct approach simply to compare the situation to someone who has not been pregnant1.   Women on maternity leave are covered by what is known in legal terms as a ‘protected period’, which ensures their position at work is not disadvantaged as a result of taking maternity leave.
 
With as many as 30,000 women a year losing their jobs because of their pregnancy or maternity leave, Ms Tofeji's experiences highlight the urgent need for employers to understand the rights and responsibilities of pregnant women and to plan a woman’s return to work jointly with her.

Jenny Watson, Chair of the EOC said:
“We know from our research that many women experience discrimination upon return from maternity leave, and suffer considerable stress and hardship as a result.  Ms Tofeji's case provides yet another reminder of how easily the thin veneer of equality can crack when working women start a family.
 
"This appeal raises a legal issue which it is important to clarify.  Women on maternity leave cannot simply be treated in the same way as a man who has been absent for the same length of time. Instead the test should be whether they have been placed at a disadvantage as a result of taking maternity leave.
 
"Understanding what is required when a pregnant woman returns to work is important for women themselves, but also for their employers who may otherwise face the risk of expensive and time-consuming tribunal claims  - and lose out on the talents of mothers who want to return to work."

Miss Tofeji, said:
“I was very disappointed with the Tribunal’s judgment. I could not believe the decision they reached given the amount of strong evidence that was presented during the hearing.
 
“I am delighted that the Equal Opportunities Commission is backing my appeal, and helping me to challenge this decision.  It is important, not just for me, but also for all the other working mothers who find themselves being forced out of jobs they love and are successful at, once they decide to have children.”

Samantha Mangwana, Miss Tofeji’s solicitor (Russell Jones & Walker), said:
“One of the key issues raised in Miss Tofeji’s case is the question of what happens when colleagues cover a professional’s portfolio of client relationships, when that individual goes on maternity leave – and, crucially, what happens on their return.
 
“This is an issue that concerns tens of thousands of women who work in the City, and across the UK, as dealers, traders, brokers – indeed any sales-related profession – where their value in the workplace is defined by the clients they bring in to the business and cover for the business.  For a professional woman to be expected to justify why any of her previous clients should be returned from colleagues who were covering them during her maternity leave, undermines her standing in the workplace.  This significantly diminishes the value of a woman’s right to return to work and is clearly unjust. "

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