EAT Sex Discrimination – Pregnancy and discrimination
Legal secretary on maternity leave dismissed by solicitor’s firm for ‘redundancy’.
Employment Tribunal finds that the real reason for dismissal was because the employee had sought to return to work on reduced hours. (Not appealed).
Employment Tribunal also upheld two sex discrimination claims:
(1) Not accepting a properly notified return date at the end of the maternity leave and
(2) Taking into account pregnancy-related illnesses in determining an attendance record. Employer’s appeal from judgment and compensation of the discrimination claims dismissed because:
(a) The ET had been entitled to determine both matters, in the sense that the complaints and claims had been before them.
(b) The conclusions reached were on issues of fact and were based on material in evidence before the Tribunal.
Recorder Luba QC
[2014] UKEAT 0537 – 13 – 0904
Bailii
England and Wales
Discrimination
Updated: 20 December 2021; Ref: scu.535993