I was fired for being pregnant and being honest about it

The recent news about anti-discrimination laws brought to my mind an experience of pregnancy discrimination that I faced two years ago.

I was being interviewed for a lab assistant’s position at an international school.

During the interview, the human resources manager asked if I was pregnant or had plans to have more children. At that time, I did not plan to expand my family, and I told the manager so. I was later offered the job. Eager to take on the role, I signed the contract.

Just before starting my new job, I discovered that I was pregnant. This came as a shock. I wanted to be honest and transparent with my new employer, so I informed the manager that I was pregnant. I was confident that I could still perform well, since when I was pregnant with my first child, I was able to work as usual. As a chemist in the personal care industry, I visited production sites, carried boxes, and climbed stairs to oversee the manufacturing process, even as my belly grew.

Upon learning about my pregnancy, the manager demanded that I resign for the sake of my “wellbeing”. I was stunned. My identity as a professional had been erased simply because I was pregnant.

I initially felt pressured to comply, but later pleaded with the manager to let me stay on as I needed the job due to family commitments. The manager, however, insisted that they had to let me go.

I later tried to negotiate with the manager, asking if I could stay on until the school found a replacement, but she informed me that they had already identified a replacement.

After seeking advice from a lawyer, I told the manager that if the school wanted to let me go, then they had to issue me a termination letter – instead of coercing me to resign. The manager agreed to this.

During a subsequent meeting, the manager claimed that I had been underperforming for the past one-and-a-half months and handed me a termination letter. I refuted this claim, highlighting that during this period, there were school holidays and my then supervisor was often absent. I further pointed out that the probation period was for six months, but she had only assessed me based on my work for a fraction of this time. The manager, however, cut me off. I left the meeting distraught.

I believe that my story of pregnancy discrimination is one shared by many other women. Pregnancy discrimination is all too common, and it happens during both recruitment and employment.

During job interviews, women are frequently asked about their family planning – deeply personal and private information that employers have no business inquiring about. Later, once hired, women may be penalised or terminated if they do become pregnant.

Currently, there are limited avenues for victims of discrimination to seek redress. When I was terminated, I went to the Industrial Relations Department to file an unfair dismissal complaint. I had to navigate many obstacles before the department finally instructed my former employer to pay me two months’ salary as compensation. My former employer, however, refused to comply at the beginning.

After my case was brought to court, the school’s lawyer asked to settle the case outside of court. I agreed and eventually received two months’ salary as compensation, after a year of fighting for my rights.

While employees like myself have the option to file an unfair dismissal complaint – albeit with an uncertain outcome – this option is not even available to job seekers. There is also no existing law that specifically prohibits discrimination in the private sector, leaving job seekers without any avenues for redress.

Hence, I urge the government to protect job seekers when it amends the Employment Act. Job seekers across Malaysia deserve this.

Michelle Tan is an FMT reader.