Pregnancy Discrimination – Sacked Bar Manager Receives Compensation

Employers who dismiss personnel or otherwise treat them unfavourably for reasons related to pregnancy, childbirth or maternity can expect severe financial and reputational consequences. That was certainly so in the case of a loyal and committed bar manager who was pregnant when she was sacked…

Sep 12, 2022

Her employer asserted that she was dismissed for misconduct. However, an Employment Tribunal (ET) concluded that her pregnancy, and her absences from work related to her condition, were a significant influence on her boss’s decision-making and furnished the reason, or the principal reason, for the termination of her employment. Her dismissal was therefore automatically unfair.

In also upholding her discrimination complaint, the ET found that her dismissal amounted to unfavourable treatment because of her pregnancy. There was no disciplinary process, nor was she afforded any opportunity to respond to the allegations for which she was purportedly dismissed.

Her boss, the ET found, had acted capriciously in terminating her employment in the knowledge that she was suffering from pregnancy-related illness. Having previously got on well with her boss, she had given compelling evidence of the shock and hurt feelings she suffered on the loss of her employment.

In respect of unlawful pregnancy discrimination, the ET awarded her £7,000 for injury to her feelings and £10,873 to reflect her lost earnings. Further sums were awarded in respect of her unfair dismissal and the employer’s failure to provide her with full and accurate written particulars of her employment. An 8 per cent interest rate was applied to her compensatory award, which was further uplifted by 25 per cent to reflect the employer’s complete failure to follow the Acas Code of Practice on disciplinary and grievance procedures.

Care Home Chef Accused of Breaching COVID-19 Bubble Unfairly Dismissed

Care home owners were possibly the hardest hit of all by the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. As an Employment Tribunal (ET) ruling showed, however, the crisis did not relieve them of their obligation to treat staff fairly. In response to the first lockdown and the grave risk to residents, a care home owner took steps to organise its employees into an isolated ‘bubble’. A chef was amongst those who agreed to move into the home for the duration of the government restrictions, which were initially…

Competitor Gravely Injured During Sporting Event Receives £3 Million Payout

Participants in potentially dangerous sports usually understand the risks they are taking. However, as a High Court case showed, it does not necessarily follow that they are disentitled from receiving compensation in the event of an accident. The case concerned a young man who came to grief whilst riding a wheeled vehicle along a rough woodland track as part of an organised event. He went over a hill at about 35 mph before losing control and colliding with a number of logs beside the taped-off…

Workplace Harassment Can Be Downright Cruel – You Don’t Have to Take It

Harassment in the workplace can descend into downright cruelty and employers who fail to stamp out such behaviour can expect to pay a heavy reputational and financial price. In a case on point, a sandwich shop worker who endured her line manager’s wounding comments received substantial compensation. The woman, who was in her probationary period at the shop, was being treated for a number of medical conditions, which amounted to a disability. Her numerous allergies required her to carry an…