A senior marketing manager has successfully claimed over £90,000 in compensation for sex discrimination after her job offer was rescinded following inquiries about her childcare responsibilities.
The circumstances:
In the case of Mrs FL v R&F Properties QS (UK)Co. Ltd, Fong Fong Lee, an experienced marketing professional, was offered a senior marketing manager role by R&F Properties, a global property firm with headquarters in China and an office in Vauxhall, London. Lee was offered the position on 26 September 2022, by Senior HR Manager Menjia Jin.
The role came with a salary of £68,520 per annum and included provisions for flexible working hours, a significant benefit for Lee, who was balancing her career with the responsibilities of raising two young children. Both parties signed the employment contract, and Lee resigned from her stable, previous job to prepare for her new position set to commence on 1 November 2022.
On 20 October 2022, Lee was invited to attend a virtual meeting with Wenting Zhu, Vice President of R&F Properties. Despite having already secured the job, Lee found this meeting to be akin to a second interview, as Zhu inquired extensively about Lee’s work experience, the size of projects she had managed and her client portfolio. Towards the end of this meeting, Zhu posed an unexpected question: she asked Lee how old her children were. Lee responded that her oldest child was four and her youngest was nearly one.
This question left Lee feeling uneasy and concerned about the implications of her answer. Her apprehensions were confirmed when, six days later, on 26 October 2022, she was informed by the company that her job offer was being withdrawn due to an alleged hiring freeze imposed by the HR department in China. However, the timing and nature of the inquiry about her children’s ages led Lee to believe that her childcare responsibilities were the true reason behind the retraction of the offer.
Feeling humiliated and facing financial uncertainty, especially after having resigned from her previous job, Lee filed a claim for sex discrimination. The tribunal noted that the withdrawal of the job offer threw Lee into a state of panic, humiliation, and distress, exacerbated by her role as the primary breadwinner for her family. Her sudden unemployment, particularly after making a career decision based on the new role, forced her to take a lower-paid, more family-friendly job at another company.
The claims and judgement findings
Lee’s claim was based on the argument that the question about her children’s ages was discriminatory and not something that would have been asked of a male candidate. The tribunal, presided over by Employment Judge Caroline Musgrave-Cohen, found in Lee’s favour. It concluded that Zhu’s inquiry was specifically aimed at assessing Lee’s childcare responsibilities, which influenced Zhu’s assessment of Lee’s suitability for the role. The tribunal dismissed the company’s defence that the hiring freeze was the genuine reason for the job offer withdrawal, and rejected the claim that the question was merely a rapport-building attempt.
The tribunal noted that such questions are generally not asked of male candidates, reinforcing the conclusion that Lee was treated less favourably due to her sex. Consequently, Lee was awarded £91,597 in compensation, covering full loss of earnings from October 2022 to May 2023, and an additional £16,000 for injury to her feelings.
Learning points for employers
Employers must ensure that recruitment processes are conducted fairly and without discrimination. The focus should be on a candidate’s ability to perform the job rather than their personal circumstances. This case demonstrates the importance of having a consistent and relevant set of interview questions applied equally to all candidates.
Adopting a more inclusive and family-friendly workplace culture not only supports working parents but also reduces the risk of sex discrimination claims and helps retain top talent.
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