An HR administrator has been awarded £19,600 in compensation for pregnancy discrimination.
Miss Powell worked for One Transport UK in the HR team and claimed that the company made 16 cumulative breaches of contract that led to her resigning in January 2023.
She could not lodge a claim for unfair or constructive dismissal as she had not been continuously employed at the transportation company for two years when she left, but she successfully won a claim for discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy and maternity.
Powell told the tribunal that a month after telling her employer that she was expecting a baby, she was told she was called in for a probationary meeting. At the meeting, she was told she would be dismissed due to a “downturn in business” at the company and was offered a job with fewer hours and lower pay.
Pregnancy discrimination
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However, Judge Catherine Rayner found the pregnancy announcement and the dismissal conversation to be “more than a coincidence”, and that there was no evidence of a financial downturn. Another employee had been given a pay rise.
Powell returned to the role with lower hours and pay and was told she would have to work from the office every day, while other employees were allowed to work from home.
She said this made her pregnancy a “stressful and difficult time” and affected her mental health. She also told the tribunal that she had failed to be invited to the Christmas party.
The tribunal found there was “no explanation from the company as to why it was necessary for Ms Powell to work solely in the office”. Powell then went off sick in January 2023 due to stress, adding that she could not reach the bathroom in the office as a result of being pregnant.
No pregnancy risk assessment had been conducted, the tribunal found, and there was little communication about changes to administration systems while she was on sick leave.
Around the same time, allegations were made against her about misconduct and she was invited to a disciplinary hearing.
The tribunal judgment said these were “exaggerated and trumped-up” charges, and said the company was “looking for excuses to criticise her”.
Powell won damages totalling £19,600, including £15,000 for injury to feelings.
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