A beauty therapist, who was sacked just two weeks after announcing she was pregnant, has won her claim for unfair dismissal.
The woman, who worked at a health spa, has won more than £14,000 as part of the Employment Tribunal settlement.
At the time of the dismissal, Homefield Grange Retreat said they could not afford to keep Ms Agata Plewa because of a downturn in business, but it was discovered the company took on a new employee at around the same time Ms Plewa was made redundant.
This was despite Ms Plewa being described by her employers as ‘an absolute pleasure to work with and a true professional.’
Tribunal awards compensation
The tribunal ruled that Ms Plewa had been sacked because of her pregnancy, and has now been awarded £14,257 in compensation.
In communication with her employers, Ms Plewa, who started the company in February 2017 as an aesthetic beauty therapist, was told she was an ‘exceptionally good’ employee.
The tribunal heard that the claimant announced she was pregnant on 3 July 2018, who then had a very strange email from her employers on 7 July effectively asking Ms Plewa what she wanted to do and by 14 July without any warning, she was made redundant.
Treated less favourably
The original judgement found Ms Plewa was treated less favourably because of her pregnancy by being dismissed and that dismissal was automatically unfair due to her pregnancy under the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Recent research by the Equality and Human Rights Commission has suggested that around 54,000 new mothers may be forced out of their jobs in Britain each year.
Treated poorly
The findings were based on a survey of over 3,200 women, in which 11 per cent reported having been dismissed, made compulsorily redundant where others in their workplace were not, or treated so poorly they felt they had to leave their jobs.
If replicated across the population as a whole, this could mean as many as 54,000 women losing their jobs each year.
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