A former Citibank employee has settled a sex and disability discrimination claim for £215,000.

Maeve Bradley worked for the bank in Belfast as an assistant vice president. In spring 2023, she went on maternity leave. She believed she was in line for a promotion on her return.

Bradley contacted a manager before she returned to work to let them know she had applied for reduced hours because of her childcare needs. She was offered an alternative role but was not comfortable with it, as she felt her experience was better suited to the promotion role.

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She then discovered that the person who had been covering her maternity leave had been promoted to vice president. She raised a formal grievance as this promotion opportunity was not offered to her while on maternity leave.

The grievance was not upheld, and Citibank claimed that performance had been the deciding factor in the promotion decision. It said the other staff member had had the time to demonstrate the strength of their performance and was therefore given the VP role.

Bradley launched a claim for sex discrimination, later followed by two further claims of sex and disability discrimination, and victimisation. She claimed that the bank had taken too long to deal with the grievance and believed she had been inadequately supported in her return to work.

She was supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland in her case, and Citibank agreed to settle with Bradley without admission of liability. Her employment was terminated as part of the settlement.

In a statement, Bradley said: “For me, this experience has been incredibly stressful and disheartening. It came as quite a shock, that the individual hired to cover my role was promoted in my absence. I felt compelled to challenge this decision, not just for myself, but to ensure that no other woman is penalised for taking time off to have a child.”

Geraldine McGahey, chief commissioner of the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, said pregnancy and maternity claims continued to be the most common complaints of sex discrimination the organisation received.

“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.”

Citibank said it would review its policies to ensure they complied in all respects with its legal obligations, and that staff were aware of these obligations.

The company also agreed to liaise with the Commission to review its equal opportunities policies, procedures and practices relating to the treatment of employees on maternity leave in Northern Ireland.

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