Discriminate against pregnant employees at your peril

Caroline Law’s role was made redundant in July 2020, some two months before she was due to commence maternity leave. During the redundancy process comments described by the Tribunal as “inappropriate” were made, which lead Mrs Law to suspect that her pregnancy had been a factor in selecting her role for redundancy. The Tribunal agreed, and also found that her appeal against redundancy had been dealt with as a “tick box” exercise and not taken seriously. As a result, there was a lack of meaningful consultation which rendered the dismissal procedurally unfair. The Tribunal also found that Mrs Law had been subject to a detriment by reason of her pregnancy.

At a Remedy hearing which took place in September 2022, Mrs Law was awarded £129,133.39 in compensation for her financial losses. These included loss of salary, and pension loss. The decision as to the appropriate compensation for her non-financial losses (injury to feelings) was reserved and will be decided at a later date.