A Liverpool-based law firm accused of sacking one of its partners because she was pregnant has been cleared of sexual discrimination.
 

 
An employment tribunal dismissed all of the allegations against DLA Piper, even though it was described as an ‘old boy’s club’ by Sarah Sweeney. The 36 year-old former real estate partner at the company lost her £120,000 per annum job in November 2008 when she was three months pregnant.
 
Sweeney also alleged that Paul Firth, one of her superiors, slapped her bottom and propositioned her, while another suggested that women who have children should not return to work.
 
But in relation to the slapping incident, Judge Reed said in his judgement that, while “something certainly happened”, Sweeney had “laughed it off” at the time and the incident was irrelevant as Firth had nothing to do with whether she was hired or fired.
 
According to the Daily Mail, he also added, however: “In one sense, it is not surprising that Ms Sweeney felt she had been mistreated by DLA. As of November 2, 2008, the position was that, without warning and some two months after telling [Liverpool real estate head Mark] Beardwood she was pregnant, she was ejected from the partnership.”
 
While it was “understandable” that she considered the two events linked, Judge Reed said that documentary evidence made it “abundantly clear that ‘the writing was on the wall’ for her at a much earlier stage – well before she made her disclosure”.
 
As a result, he concluded that she had not been discriminated against.
 
A DLA spokesman said: “We were disappointed that the claim was brought in the first place and continued with, despite strong and clear documentary evidence supporting our defence. We maintained our defence throughout because we believed our decision to ask Sarah to leave was entirely correct, appropriate and in the circumstances, fair.”
 
But Sweeney said that she thought the six-day tribunal had got it wrong. “It’s a carefully worded judgement, which would be difficult to appeal against. Financially, it would be impossible for us,” she added.