Banker awarded £300k in 'broken waters' sex discrimination case

A pregnant banker who was criticised for returning to the office to continue working after her waters had broken has been awarded £300,000 in a sex discrimination case.

Jagruti Rajput worked as a senior compliance adviser from 2012 at Commerzbank in London. In 2015, she became pregnant and after her waters broke earlier than expected, she was taken to hospital. However, she later returned to work for a short time before going on maternity leave.

Rajput claimed she was not allowed to join a meeting remotely to tell colleagues about the birth of her daughter. She also said that while on maternity leave, her role was taken over by a junior colleague, who was “not willing to return to a supporting role” when she returned. She also found that her boss installed a male colleague into a position that she had wanted. Rajput sued the bank for discrimination over sex and maternity as well as harassment. The Employment Tribunal ruled in her favour. It noted that Rajput had suffered “a very significant setback” to her career.

Her bosses considered that her returning to work after her waters had broken was an example of her “controlling and intrusive” character. She was awarded £300,684 including £201,650 for loss of salary, bonus and pension payment and £25,000 for injury to feelings.

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