A former employee of a pregnancy clothing brand loved by the Princess of Wales has accused the firm of making her redundant – after she took maternity leave.
Seraphine, which has its flagship store on London‘s Kensington High Street, crashed into administration last week, leaving 95 staff out of work after it failed to find a buyer.
Now the firm is facing fresh controversy after its former head of merchandising, Olivia Brooks, said she was ‘treated in a way no one should experience’ when she came back to work after having a baby.
She wrote on the social networking website LinkedIn: ‘My time at Seraphine ended in February, when I was made redundant shortly after returning from maternity leave.’
She said her forced exit came shortly after her daughter became unwell and had been through multiple surgeries.
Ms Brooks filed a claim against Seraphine at an employment tribunal in London in April, with a preliminary hearing set for January 7.
She wrote: ‘At what was already the hardest and most vulnerable time in my life, I found myself pushed into a redundancy process.
‘For legal reasons, I can’t share the details, but I can say I was treated in a way no one should experience.
Pregnancy clothing firm Seraphine, which has its flagship store on London’s Kensington High Street and is loved by Kate Middleton (pictured), crashed into administration last week
The firm is facing fresh controversy after its former head of merchandising, Olivia Brooks (pictured), said she was ‘treated in a way no one should experience’ when she came back to work after having a baby
‘Sadly, this is not an isolated story: every year in the UK, an estimated 74,000 women lose their jobs as a result of pregnancy or maternity leave. It happened to me.
‘And, working for a maternity brand, many in my network have been shocked to learn this.’
One former employee told The Mail on Sunday: ‘The tagline of the company is ‘With Mums for the Journey’, but we say, ‘…unless you work there’.’
The brand gained global attention when Kate wore its pieces throughout her three pregnancies.
Other celebrity fans include Myleene Klass, Sophie Ellis-Bextor and Anne Hathaway.
A spokesman for the company’s former management said: ‘Seraphine has always been committed to being an inclusive employer.
‘We took great pride in our best-in-class maternity policy, befitting a brand dedicated to helped new mums.
‘When the business was operating, nearly 80 per cent of our staff were women at all levels of the business.
Olivia published a post on her LinkedIn in which she said her forced exit came shortly after her daughter became unwell and had been through multiple surgeries
The Seraphine flagship shop in London’s Kensington High Street. The brand gained global attention when Kate wore its pieces throughout her three pregnancies
Cecile Reinaud (pictured), founder and designer of maternity wear label Seraphine who left the firm in 2021, said she was ‘beyond disappointed Mayfair… allowed such malpractice’
‘Over the course of the last 12 months, we conducted two rigorous investigations into grievance claims related to Seraphine’s restructuring, which concluded with no findings of any wrongdoing.
‘As a result, Seraphine disputes any accusations related to those claims.’
Cecile Reinaud – who founded the firm in 2002 and left in 2021, two years before it was bought by private equity firm Mayfair for £50million – last night told Ms Brooks on LinkedIn: ‘I am beyond disappointed Mayfair… allowed such malpractice and discrimination.
‘I built Seraphine for women and the thought that such a toxic culture could exist is deeply unsettling.
‘I am sorry for the pain this must have inflicted you. Everyone who was a victim of discrimination should raise their voice.’
