Woman fired for “risk of repeated childbirth” sued her employee

A Hungarian woman, who got fired for having a baby, sued her employer. The employer refused to renew her contract due to the “risk of repeated childbirth”. What makes matters worse is that she worked at a state body.

Due to the “risk of repeated childbirth,” an employer did not renew the contract of a female employee. – wrote 24.hu. This occurred despite the fact that the woman did an impeccable job at her workplace. She sued the employer and turned to the Hungarian Helsinki Committee (Magyar Helsinki Bizottság) for help.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee was founded in 1989. It began providing professional legal assistance in 1994. The public benefit human rights organization “protects human dignity through legal and public activities.” – as they state on their official website. They help refugees, detainees, and victims of law enforcement violence.

The Hungarian woman who sued her former employer started working in 2015. She had a 1.5 years long contract, which was first renewed. Meanwhile, she gave birth to a child after which her contract did not get renewed. The employer argued that she did not fulfill the criteria of the internship program. The woman did her job well yet she was left unemployed. She was encouraged to apply for a new internship.

When she applied to an internship again, she was rejected. When she inquired a reason for that, she was told by an HR employee that it is because she would probably give birth to a child again. The violation was particularly severe since it occurred in the public sector.

Now 24.hu writes that the woman went through with the legal process. With the help of the Hungarian Helsinki Committee, she sued her former employer. Even though they lost the first case in February, the legal process continued. Eventually, she won the case.

The former employer has to pay her HUF 5 million (EUR 13,694) for damages.

The Hungarian Helsinki Committee happily announced in a Facebook post that the case has been successfully settled. Balázs Tóth, the lawyer who represented the plaintiff, also expressed his opinion about the case.

“It is unacceptable that an employer would not employ a woman because of a possible future pregnancy.” He also added that this violation of law is especially severe because it happened at a state body and many women were victims of it. He also elaborated on the recent governmental measures Hungarians hear all the time about population decrease, family protection, support for expectant mothers and parents as well as the duty of women yet it was a woman who fell victim to such discrimination.

The fact that the woman got fired for having a baby dramatically contradicts the encouraging messages of the government’s family planning programs.

Read alsoSurvey shows that it is still not worth becoming a parent in Hungary

Read alsoHungarian Govt. launches new support program to help couples conceive

Source: 24.hu, helsinki.hu, Facebook/ Magyar Helsinki Bizottság/ Hungarian Helsinki Committee