A woman from Clyebank in Scotland has won her pregnancy discrimination case at an employment tribunal, reports The Herald.
Gillian Anderson worked for a local Spar store. She first realised she was pregnant with her second child in May 2016 after missing a few days of work because she felt unwell. In July she began to experience pain and discomfort caused by pelvic displacement, which was so bad on one occasion that she had to miss work to go to the maternity unit.
Shortly after this, she was invited to a meeting with her employer. Fearing that there might be a threat to her employment, Ms Anderson secretly recorded the meeting.
She was informed by her employer that the situation was an inconvenience and that she was being dismissed in the best interests of the store and herself. She was advised not to look for further employment while she was pregnant, but that she could come back and see him about re-employment at the store once the baby had been born. The official termination letter she subsequently received stated that she had been “unreliable”.
Ms Anderson brought a claim to the employment tribunal, which has now found in her favour. The judge noted that she had been dismissed "because of her pregnancy or pregnancy related illness".
Her awarded included around £11,900 for pregnancy discrimination, and an additional, smaller amount for unpaid annual leave.
If you have been dismissed at any point after having told your employer that you are pregnant, you may have a claim for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination. You will need to seek advice as soon as possible as time to make a claim runs out very quickly. If you feel your rights have been compromised then contact one of our employment solicitors today.
I was dismissed after I told my employer I was pregnant. Andrew Lloyd took my case on won it...