RAF Faces Lawsuit After Sergeant Claims Pregnancy Blocked Promotion

An RAF officer is taking legal action against the Ministry of Defence, claiming she was denied promotion because her fitness test was cancelled when she became pregnant.

Sgt Haylee Curtis alleges the cancellation prevented her from advancing in rank, as a full fitness certificate was required to apply for sergeant vacancies. Her medical records stated the test was scrapped at three days' notice "due to being pregnant," a hearing was told.

Her pregnancy discrimination case was initially dismissed by an employment tribunal in Watford, which ruled it lacked jurisdiction. However, the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has overturned that decision, finding legal errors, and has allowed the case to proceed.

Curtis, then a corporal, was due for a medical board in August 2017 but had it cancelled during her pregnancy. She says the delay had "long-term consequences" for her career and earnings, even though she has since been promoted to sergeant.

While on maternity leave in April 2018, she was offered a sergeant post at RAF Benson in Oxfordshire but declined due to the short notice and distance from her Suffolk base. She later applied for another role in Colchester but was rejected for lacking the required fitness certificate.

Curtis filed a service complaint in 2019, claiming she would have enjoyed a longer career extension had she been promoted earlier. The case will now be reheard in full at a new employment tribunal.

PM Law