A business made a costly mistake when an employee was dismissed after getting pregnant whilst on maternity leave. The judge found that the employee had been automatically unfairly dismissed and discriminated against, awarding her around £28,000.
So, what happened in the case of Twitchen v Genu Prima Ltd t/a First Grade Projects and what are some of the key takeaways from this case?
Facts of the Case
Shortly after starting work the employee, an Office Administrator, became pregnant and started a period of maternity leave.
Towards the end of her maternity leave the employee had a return to work meeting with her manager with whom she had always had a good relationship and found to be very responsive when she needed to speak to him.
The meeting started positively with an update that the business was doing well, plans for her return and the manager saying he was looking forward to her coming back. However, towards the end of the meeting the employee informed her manager that she was pregnant which seemed to come as a shock to him.
When her maternity leave came to an end a few weeks later, she had to chase for a response to a requested altered return date. When she returned to work she raised a question regarding holiday entitlement. Her manager failed to substantively respond to her query which was out of character for him, and the employee had to send two chasing messages. On the day of receiving the last message the manager rang the employee to tell her that due to financial difficulties she was being made redundant.
The employee complained to an employment tribunal that the business had automatically unfairly dismissed her on the grounds of pregnancy and had failed to give her written reasons for her dismissal. She also brought a claim of pregnancy discrimination against the business and her manager.
The Decision
The employee succeeded in her claims. The judge found that:
- The principal reason for the employee’s dismissal was her pregnancy. In coming to this conclusion the judge took into account the lack of evidence from the employer to suggest that the reason was redundancy, the change in attitude of her manager after learning of the pregnancy and the timing of the change in position. The employee had only been told a relatively short time before delivering her news that the business was doing well and they were looking forward to her return. The judge also noted “the complete lack of any coherent evidence-based alternative explanation from the [employer], despite them having ample opportunity to provide one”.
- Actions including dismissing the employee and failing to respond to her messages were unfavourable treatment because of her pregnancy and this conduct was discriminatory.
- In the absence of any documentary evidence to the contrary the business had failed to supply the employee with a written statement of the reasons for her dismissal.
The judge awarded £11,626.20 against the business for automatic unfair dismissal and £521 for failure to provide written reasons for dismissal. £15,000 was awarded in respect of the discrimination – with the business and the manager being jointly and severally liable for this.
Takeaways
It’s important to remember the protections that pregnant employees and those on or returning from maternity leave have and to make sure that they are treated appropriately. Here’s a few things to bear in mind:
- Employees are protected from discrimination from day one of their employment and there is no cap on the amount they can be awarded if an employment tribunal finds that they have been discriminated against
- Employers are prohibited from dismissing employees for certain reasons from day one of their employment, these include dismissal in connection with pregnancy or family leave
- In a genuine redundancy situation, businesses need to be careful if a pregnant employee or someone on maternity leave (or recently returned) could be affected, there are special rules with regard to suitable alternative work which may apply. It will be important to be able to evidence that any redundancy is fair, including any process followed.
It can be all too easy for businesses to make a misstep when handling HR matters so it’s important to seek advice on the specific circumstances of your situation before acting.