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.

Court of Appeal Upholds Entitlements of Employee on Long-Term Sick Leave

Many employers offer their staff the benefit of insurance-backed income protection schemes that provide them with financial security in the event of long-term illness. The legal effect of one such scheme came under analysis by the Court of Appeal in a case concerning an engineer who had been on sick leave for well over a decade. The engineer went on sick leave in 2009, suffering from chronic fatigue syndrome, and had been off work continuously ever since. Throughout all but the first 13 weeks…

Use of Similar Fact Evidence in Employment Proceedings – Guideline Ruling

In a criminal context, prosecutors often rely on similar fact evidence in order to show that a defendant has a propensity to behave in a particular way – but can such evidence also be deployed in employment proceedings? The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) focused on that issue in a guideline case. The case concerned an energy broker who complained to an Employment Tribunal (ET) that unlawful deductions had been made from her wages in that she had not been paid all commissions due to her. She…

A Fair Redundancy Process Requires Consultation at a Formative Stage

A fair redundancy process requires consultation of affected employees at a formative stage when there is at least the potential for them to influence the outcome. The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) succinctly made that point in finding that a recruitment consultant in the banking sector was unfairly dismissed. The man’s employer, part of an American-owned group, experienced a downturn in business due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A decision was taken that redundancies were required amongst…