On 16 December 2025, the EOC filed legal proceedings under the Sex Discrimination Ordinance (Cap. 480) (“SDO”) in the District Court (Case number: DCEO 7 /2025) on behalf of a woman (the Claimant) who alleged that her former employer (the Respondent) had engaged in unlawful pregnancy discrimination and discrimination by way of victimisation.

The Respondent is an asset management company. During the Claimant’s more than seven years of employment with the Respondent, her work performance was consistently considered satisfactory as she was promoted from Compliance Manager to Head of Compliance and received salary increases. After the Claimant took maternity leave in 2022, the Respondent substantially reduced her annual discretionary bonus for that year. As such, the Claimant believed that the Respondent discriminated against her on the grounds of her pregnancy. In addition, the Claimant was dismissed about three weeks after she had informed the Respondent of her pregnancy discrimination complaint lodged with the EOC. Given the time proximity between the Respondent’s knowledge of the said complaint and the Claimant’s dismissal, the Claimant believed that the Respondent had victimised her by reason that she lodged the pregnancy discrimination complaint.

The SDO protects women from pregnancy discrimination in the employment field. Under the SDO, it is unlawful for an employer to subject an employee to a disadvantage or treat her less favourably on the grounds of her pregnancy and/or related maternity leave. In addition, if an employer dismisses or treats an employee less favourably because that employee has engaged in an act protected under the SDO (such as lodging a pregnancy discrimination complaint with the EOC), this may constitute unlawful discrimination by way of victimisation.

By taking this case to court, the EOC hopes to raise public awareness of the rights of pregnant employees under the SDO, as well as to remind employers that pregnancy discrimination and victimisation against employees are unlawful acts that can lead to serious legal consequences.

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