A trainee nursery nurse who was sacked when she became pregnant has today won her sex discrimination case against her former employer. The Birmingham tribunal awarded her £7,473 compensation.
Rebecca Mountford, from Stourport-on-Severn, started work at the Jack and Jill Nursery in Bromsgrove as a trainee nursery nurse in January 2003. She was sacked in June 2003 after informing her employer she was pregnant. When she asked why she was being dismissed she was told it was because of her pregnancy and her employer later confirmed this in writing.
Julie Mellor, Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC), said: “Pregnancy is not a sackable offence and employers have a very clear legal duty to treat pregnant women fairly. But unfair treatment related to pregnancy and maternity remains the most common cause of calls to our helpline.”
In an average year more than a thousand women take legal action in England and Wales claiming they were sacked because of their pregnancy.
The EOC’s investigation into pregnancy discrimination, Pregnant and Productive, will run until February 2005 when the EOC intends to make formal recommendations to the Secretary of State.
The investigation will look into the concerns of some employers in managing pregnancy at work, the changes that need to happen and what can be done to make a pregnancy a positive experience in the workplace.
You can download the EOC’s leaflet Pregnant and Productive.
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