It is unlawful for an employer to discriminate against someone for being pregnant or on maternity leave, but that’s what happened to Laura Gruzdaite. She made a claim to the employment tribunal and was awarded nearly £28,000 for pregnancy discrimination. 
Read her story below and find out what it means to you.
January 2018
Laura and her husband moved to Northern Ireland, and both found jobs at McGrane Nurseries in Co Armagh. Their employment contracts didn’t include a start or end date, but they believed it was a permanent job rather than a seasonal one.
September 2018
When Laura found she was pregnant, her first ante-natal appointment was set for 14 September. She showed the appointment letter to one of her managers so she could get the day off, but he omitted to tell the other manager.
On 18th, she was called to a meeting with both managers to explain her absence.
October 2018
Laura’s next scan was 10 October, and she told a manager about it on 8th. However, she was once again called to a meeting on 11th to justify why she hadn’t been at work the day before.
Also on 10th, the company gave one week’s notice some of their seasonal workers.
On 12th, the company told Laura and her husband that they were also being dismissed – even though other seasonal workers were kept on to do Laura’s work.
By this time, Laura was 20 weeks pregnant. She suffered stress because both of them were out of work, and sought help from her doctor because she was worried about complications or even a miscarriage.
What the company did wrong
The tribunal found several things that the company did wrong:
- They SHOULD have had clear employment contracts in place
- They SHOULD have paid Laura for her time off to attend the ante-natal appointments
- They SHOULD NOT have questioned her about her absence when she had told her manager she was attending ante-natal appointments
- Her manager (Peter McGrane) SHOULD NOT have been “less friendly” to Laura after she announced her pregnancy
- On the dismissal day, her manager SHOULD NOT have said Laura “skipped work” for her scan and would “need more days off” due to pregnancy
What happened next
Because she was treated adversely and then dismissed for a reason related to pregnancy, Laura turned to the Equality Commission to support her case for unfair and unlawful discrimination.
The tribunal found the decision to terminate her contract earlier than others was because of the past and predicted appointments she needed to attend, and awarded her almost £28,000.
Today, Laura looks after the baby, while her husband has managed to find another job.
What this means to you
Laws to protect pregnant women and new mums at work have been in place for over 40 years. Despite that, some employers unknowingly or deliberately flout them. In fact, the Equality Commission said 22% of complaints to their helpline are about sex discrimination, of which 22% are about pregnancy and maternity discrimination.
If it’s happened to you, please give us a call. We’ll be happy to help.
Further reading
For more information on this subject, you might find our other articles useful:
- I’ve suffered pregnancy discrimination. What can I do?
- Pregnancy and maternity discrimination
- Pregnancy/Maternity: Do you know your rights?
- Maternity leave and shared parental leave
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