HER boss made life hell when he found out that she was pregnant for the first time.

Now she's pregnant again, and he's making her life so miserable that she is now seeing a counsellor.

Said the 29-year-old financial planner with a 10-month-old baby: 'He kept reminding me, 'Wah, this year you worked only nine months'.'

Ms Florence (not her real name), who works in a foreign financial institution, said she had taken her 3-month maternity leave for her first pregnancy this year.

She declined to be named or photographed as she did not want to risk losing her job.

He also told her that 'if every woman in the office decided to happily get pregnant, we might as well close down'.

Madam Halimah Yacob, co-chairman of Tripartite Alliance for Fair Employment Practices, urged employees like Ms Florence to refer their cases to the Centre for Fair Employment.

Launched last month, the Centre aims to weed out unfair and unhealthy practices at workplaces.

Madam Halimah, who is also NTUC deputy secretary-general, said there has been an increase in the number of complaints filed by pregnant mothers since the maternity benefit period was extended by another four weeks to 12, in 2004.

'Even though the Government is picking up the tab for the extension, some employers can still be sticky about it,' she said.

Ms Florence, who earns $5,300 a month including commissions, said she and her teacher-husband, 30, had started planning for a family right after their wedding in March 2005.

At the job interview, Ms Florence said, she was forthcoming with details of her then-approaching wedding.

The problems surfaced when she became pregnant for the first time last year.

She claimed: 'He showed me a black face each time I had to take leave for my checkup. It was especially bad towards the last term of my pregnancy.'

NOT THE FIRST TIME

The New Paper contacted two of Ms Florence's colleagues, both of whom verified her account.

One of them, who wanted to be known as Mr Wong, claimed the treatment that Ms Florence received was 'a watered-down version of what happened to another former colleague'.

Mr Wong added: 'He kept insinuating that she was a resource waste, and when she forgot some tasks, he'd say, 'Yah, but can remember to get pregnant'.'

That colleague resigned when she was seven months' pregnant.

While Ms Florence's husband has suggested she quit her job, she is reluctant to do so for two reasons.

She explained: 'It took me some time before I found this job, and my colleagues are wonderful people to work with, except for, of course, my boss.'

The other reason? She felt that she 'should not be mentally coerced into resigning'.

Madam Halimah said the Centre for Fair Employment can help.

She said: 'The Centre can help to intervene and mediate so that it can be a win-win situation for both parties.'

On the apprehension that the Centre carries no bite because it is not a regulatory board, she said: 'Every company worth its salt knows that workplace conflict is unhealthy and has to be dealt with effectively.

'It'll not do good for the company to ignore it. To contain the conflict is in the interest of all.'