Pregnancy related sex discrimination case settles for £33,000

Mrs J had worked for Company B for two years as general manager of a catering contract at a client site. After becoming pregnant she took ordinary and additional maternity leave.

Prior to going on maternity leave she notified Company B of her return date. She then attended a return to work meeting a few weeks before going back.   During this meeting Mrs J confirmed that she wished to return to work on the same terms.  However, Company B told her she could not, because her job had been filled by another employee.  Instead she was offered a temporary 12 week contract.

As a result of Company B refusing to allow Mrs J to return to her role and not offering her a suitable alternative, Mrs J was signed off sick by her GP with a stress related illness. She also raised a grievance.

Following an unreasonable delay in dealing with her grievance and Company B not paying Mrs J for a two-week period in which she had notified them that she was fit to return, Mrs J resigned, claiming constructive dismissal.

What did we do?

We helped Mrs J from an early stage with her internal grievance process through to drafting her resignation letter. 

We also lodged her claims of constructive dismissal, automatic (constructive) unfair dismissal as the reason related to her pregnancy/maternity, unlawful deduction of wages, breach of maternity regulations and sex discrimination, in the Employment Tribunal to protect her legal position.

How did it help?

As a result of Mrs J's claim being actively managed and presented in the strongest of terms, we were able to negotiate and settle Mrs J's case for £33,000.

Case handler

Karen Bristow is an associate of the Institute of Legal Executives and has experience working on purely litigated employment tribunal claims, and has worked for clients on a wide variety of claims, including unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal, sex discrimination, race discrimination, disability discrimination, age discrimination, religious discrimination, equal pay, unlawful deduction of wages, breach of contract, whistle-blowing claims and claims under the Working Time Regulations 1998.

karen said, "I understood what Mrs J's claim meant to her and what she wanted to achieve.   I strived to obtain the best possible settlement and terms for Mrs J, and she was very happy with the result. 

Throughout the process I advised her on the prospects of her claims succeeding, the law surrounding her claims, tactics, legal implications, process and procedure."

Client testimonial

"I always felt confident Karen was working for me and always in my best interests."

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