Admin assistant unfairly dismissed after becoming pregnant

An admin assistant has been awarded £15,000 compensation after being dismissed when she became pregnant.

Jennifer Cafferky Solicitor in our employment team, reports on this recent case.

The case involved Charlotte Leitch who worked for CIS Services Limited, which handles customer information in the rail industry.

She joined the company on 21 May 2021 and on 23 June, she told her supervisor that she was unable to work due to a hospital appointment she needed to attend after falling pregnant.

At this time, Leitch had not yet completed or signed her contract.

Leitch told CIS’ head of compliance, Nicola Calder, that she had suffered miscarriages in the past and was not sure if her pregnancy would be successful.

Calder responded by telling Leitch that she had not signed her contract and the company had no obligation to keep her on.

Leitch left the company, but after seeking legal advice, sent an email stating: “An email sent from Nicola suggests that I volunteered to leave due to a previous traumatic experience. This is not the case and by revealing to Nicola my previous miscarriage, I had this used against me. I find this extremely disrespectful to use my grief as a potential get-out of keeping me under the company’s employment. 

“I agreed to leave as I felt pressurised to do so and felt that I had no right to argue.” 

She brought a claim of unfair dismissal, but CIS said the decision had been made irrespective of Leitch’s pregnancy.

It denied claims of discrimination and highlighted the fact that the company’s bookkeeper had been retained after returning from maternity leave.

However, the Employment Tribunal ruled in favour of Leitch.

Employment Judge Porter said: “Suddenly without warning on June 24, 2021, the claimant was without a job. She felt worthless, she was worried about the effect on her unborn child. The claimant was hurt and distressed by the decision to dismiss.” 

The judge added that claims of discrimination were well founded and awarded Leitch £14,884 in compensation.

If you would like more information about the issues raised in this article, or any aspect of employment law please contact Jennifer on 01228 516666 or click here to send her an email.