Interviewing for internal promotion

If they give you the job I would assume they would have someone working in the position temporarily until your back in November xx

Following as I’m in a very similar situation😊 I was aware of the position before I went on mat leave and my managers all really want me in the role and know I’d be the best fit for it. I expressed my concerns about being on leave when the post comes up and they’ve said there’s nothing to worry about. If you are the best person for the role, you will have to be given the opportunity no matter what. In my case if all goes to plan I will get the job and they fill the role with agency/temp staff until I come back! I get what you mean about needing someone in the role asap but this could defo still be seen as discrimination, the only reason they could have to not promote you would be if there was someone more qualified! Good luck🍀😁

Quite similar but I started an internal promotion in the civil service only 6 weeks before I went on mat leave and they just found cover for me - I felt so guilty about applying and getting it but we deserve it just as much as every else so definitely apply. However my husband works as an equality officer within HR and he said it would be a justified reason to not give you the post it wouldn't be classed as discrimination. But still definitely apply cos if you're a good fit they might just wait

I used to work on recruitment in the public sector, this is just my view and not actually legal advice... 👍🏻 I think you could argue a case of discrimination. Maternity is a protected characteristic and if you are proven as the best candidate I would expect the business to exhaust all options to accommodate you before claiming they can't hire you due to business needs. My expectation would be that if you were successful at interview, they would offer you the permanent position and offer the next highest scoring candidate a temporary position covering the role. There is a risk that the second highest scoring candidate could turn this down as a temp position is not as enticing / doesn't offer the same stability as a permanent role, but I don't think the exempts the business from trying this to accommodate you (cont.)

(..) Alternatively they could offer the role to the second highest scoring candidate and then offer you a different role with the same salary / required skills which you could start when you're back from Mat Leave. I would strongly argue that anything less would be disadvantaging you financially on the basis of maternity status, and that's illegal.

Sorry - afterthought. I think the main issue you would have is in proving that they have been discriminatory. You would have to be able to prove that you were the best candidate and that they are not offering you the role based on your maternity status. I'm not sure how you would do that if they just didn't offer you the job? You would have to prove their motivation for rejecting your application. But they definitely cannot stop you from applying.

Afterthought to my afterthought - the organisation Pregnant Then Screwed offer advice about maternity and employment. They have a HR advice line manned by HR professionals with a special interest in pregnancy and maternity.