Woman claims work cancelled her annual leave after planned activities ‘weren’t lady like’
Kit Roberts
Featured Image Credit: fizkes/Liliya Krueger/Getty Images
A woman was left flabbergasted after finding that her work had cancelled her annual leave.
The woman, who said that she is a trainee solicitor, claimed that her work had cancelled her planned time off after finding out what she had planned for those days.
She explained that she was a big fan of football and Formula 1, but when her work found out she would be using her time off to attend these events, they disapproved.
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So strongly, in fact, that they cancelled the leave, because the activities were not 'ladylike' enough.
She explained: "I’ve got 1 day booked off this weekend and a week booked off next year to go to sporting events.
"I’m a huge football and f1 fan. I’ve got tickets, and flights, booked now and will lose £2500+ by not going.
"They’ve essentially said that they don’t believe that a female trainee solicitor should be going to these events, and if a client was to find me on social media they would be disgusted."
You might think a solicitor's client would be more concerned their attorney would do everything in their power to represent their legal interests than they were about what they did on their holidays.
She continued: "My social medias are all private, and even if they weren’t I feel like this is quite discriminatory?
"Why can men attend these events (I know a male colleague who hasn’t had their annual leave cancelled), but I can’t?
"It feels unfair, and I’m now going to lose a lot of money because of their views. Is there anything I can do?"
Presumably this means female solicitors should stick to doing their hair and painting their nails on their days off.
How else would they prove that they have the determination and knowledge to fight someone's corner in complex legal disputes?
Well they could just use their legal expertise and dogged determination to make sure their client's case is properly heard. Just a thought.
Needless to say, people were not impressed with the company's alleged conduct.
One drafted a possible tongue-in-cheek response for her, writing: "Oh, boss, you're pulling a prank on me, making sure I recognise illegal activity when it happens and that I'm happy to report it when it occurs."
A second wrote: "If this is not a wind up - find another firm, don’t cancel your holiday."
A third responded: "If you’re sure it’s not a windup, this is very clearly discrimination on the ground of sex."
To be crystal clear on the law here, the Equality Act 2010 sets out a number of 'protected characteristics', including race, religion, sex, gender identity, and sexual orientation.
In the UK, it is illegal to discriminate against someone on the basis of any of these characteristics.
But being solicitors, presumably the company would know that?