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

Pexels mentatdgt 1301547 1024x683

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 without notice.

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.

Bar Owner Overturns Liability Finding Following Customer’s Fall on Spilt Drink

Hospitality venues must take reasonable steps to keep their customers reasonably safe – but that is not a counsel of perfection. The High Court powerfully made that point in the case of woman who suffered a painful fracture when she slipped on a spilt drink in a late-night bar. The woman was in a crowded corridor in the bar when she fell in the early hours of the morning, sustaining a broken bone in her foot. She launched a personal injury claim against the bar’s proprietor, alleging negligence…

ET Erred in Considering ‘Last Straw’ in Constructive Dismissal

The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) has upheld an HGV driver’s appeal against the rejection of his constructive unfair dismissal claim, finding that the Employment Tribunal (ET) had misdirected itself on the proper approach to considering the ‘last straw’. The HGV driver’s role involved collecting spent grain from distilleries, taking it to a biogas plant and tipping it into an intake hopper. Following operational changes at the plant, he felt under pressure and found it difficult to take…

Bus Driver Sacked Whilst on Sick Leave Succeeds in Unfair Dismissal Claim

Dismissing a sick employee on medical grounds may be lawful and justified, but it is always something that is likely to attract close scrutiny by an Employment Tribunal (ET). In a case on point, a bus driver who was sacked whilst on sick leave, having suffered a stroke, succeeded in an unfair dismissal claim. The driver was hospitalised for 13 days following his stroke and was on sick leave for over six months prior to his dismissal. The DVLA had revoked his Passenger Carrying Vehicle (PCV)…