A
former manager for the Giorgio Armani group
who was sacked after two periods of maternity leave, has won £112,000 in
compensation after claiming unfair dismissal and sex discrimination.
Sarah
Vince-Cain who earned £32,000, plus a bonus, as regional manager for the
Armani group, said she was marginalised after both her maternity leaves and was
sacked in October 2001.
As
she was unsuccessful in finding a job that was flexible enough to meet her
childcare needs as well as maintaining her seniority, the tribunal ruled that
she was able to enter higher education, instead of mitigating her losses by
taking another job.
Her
solicitor, Gary Tobin of the law firm Hempsons,
was quoted in the Guardian as saying: “The decision is particularly
important… as it upheld that an individual with childcare responsibilities is
fully entitled to restrict her search for alternative employment to a job at a
similar level with the same degree of flexibility.”
By
Hannah Moffatt
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