Pregnant then screwed over by work!

I was four months pregnant when I announced news of my pregnancy to my main client. I had designed, developed and secured the funding for a huge project we were working on together and we were about seven months into the process. I had mapped out the rest of the project for them to ensure there wouldn't be any problems. I had a fantastic replacement ready to step into my shoes and was confident that the remainder of the project would be executed exactly according to plan. Without any further communication, I was sacked.

When I started telling other mums about what happened to me, I was shocked to hear so many other women had similar stories. The problem is that women are too scared to speak out for fear of being branded a trouble-maker. Or if they still work for the company they are terrified of losing their jobs, particularly now that they are responsible for a child. You only have three months to take a case of discrimination to Employment Tribunal and this tends to come at a time when you are weak, exhausted and frankly this just isn’t your priority. Moreover, the introduction of new tribunal fees means that justice is only available to people with some spare cash. This results in many cases being unopposed. Discrimination cases are on the rise, but timing, fear and a system which doesn’t protect women as it should means that often these victims are suffering in silence.

Pregnant women and new mums don’t expect things to be easier for them; they just expect it to be fair. Is it fair that 60,000 women a year are pushed out of their jobs because they get pregnant and more than half of all pregnant women suffer some form of discrimination in the workplace?

So a few weeks ago, I launched Pregnant Then Screwed because I believe we need to expose this problem so that we can have a public debate about why this is happening, why it is on the increase and what the impact is on women, companies and the UK economy.

Like the Everyday Sexism project before it, Pregnant Then Screwed is a place for women to tell their own stories anonymously and in their own words – of what really happened to them when they fell pregnant. I hope that together, our voice will be much stronger, and we can make a case for recognition, respect and change.

Working with Telegraph Wonder Women today – I have picked three stories out of the hundreds that have been submitted already. To protect their identity, we have not shared any of these women's names.

Here is the first:

I was four months pregnant when I announced news of my pregnancy to my main client. I had designed, developed and secured the funding for a huge project we were working on together and we were about seven months into the process. I had mapped out the rest of the project for them to ensure there wouldn't be any problems. I had a fantastic replacement ready to step into my shoes and was confident that the remainder of the project would be executed exactly according to plan. Without any further communication, I was sacked.

I was the assistant manager of a pub and restaurant complex, aged 20 and some 300 miles away from my family. My pregnancy was unplanned and frankly, I was terrified. The father was an employee at the same complex. When I gave my bosses notice of my maternity leave, I told them I thought it was unlikely I'd be able to return to work in the same job as working the same hours would be impossible with childcare. I regularly worked 60 hours a week, anywhere between 6am to midnight. The father worked in the kitchens, so we'd need them to be placed on opposing shifts. I was happy to accept fewer hours, a different job; I just needed not to be unemployed. They agreed to discuss the exact terms with me at the end of my maternity leave.

Except here’s what actually happened: the father 'failed to attend work' when he accompanied me to hospital when I was in labour (despite him actually speaking to the manager to say he wouldn't be in), so they sacked him without notice. Two weeks after a really traumatic birth, I went to the pub to discuss my job and any chance of them re-employing the father, they told me I was barred and called the police to have me removed. As licensee of the premises, they had this right even if I was an employee. They did not pay my maternity pay, until I tried to claim via the Job Centre; it was eight weeks before it was rectified. We lost our home, and when my son was five months old I had to move back in with my parents. I never pursued it in the way I should have. I never took them to court, and it's my ONLY regret in life.

• Pregnant then screwed: 'Pregnancy made me an undesirable employee'

• Pregnant and screwed: 'When I needed my boss, he kicked me in the teeth. Now I'm trapped'

If you want to share your story Joeli Brearley - please send it to Pregnant Then Screwed.