Woman awarded £28k after being 'unfairly dismissed' by company while she was pregnant
“It is dispiriting that we are at Tribunal once again supporting another case of pregnancy discrimination," Equality Commission.
Last updated 25th Sep 2019
A woman who was sacked from a Co Armagh company when she was 20 weeks pregnant, has been awarded nearly £28,000 after a tribunal ruled she had been unfairly dismissed
When Laura Gruzdaite and her husband Andrush started work at McGrane Nurseries Ltd in Tandragee, in January 2018, she was given a blank contract to sign, specifically with no start or end dates.
Laura believed she was coming to Northern Ireland for a permanent job but at no point was she told that this was to be a seasonal job.
When Laura told her manager she was pregnant and needed to attend ante natal appointments she was told that was fine.
But she was then grilled about those appointments, on why she was taking time off work for them.
Through an interpreter, she said it caused her no end of stress.
“I have suffered a lot of stress following my dismissal from work and had to seek help from my doctor I was very worried that the stress could cause complications or even a miscarriage,” she said.
“We were in a very bad situation for a time and it is a great relief to me to have this all finished. I am very grateful to the Equality Commission for helping me. No woman should lose her job because she is pregnant and it is important that women challenge such treatment.”
The tribunal found managers acted coldly toward her after she told them about her pregnancy.
Her baby boy, Yoris is now six months old and she says the family are glad to be vindicated
Meanwhile, the head of the equality commissions warned companies here to get their maternity policies in order.
Dr Michael Wardlow, Chief Commissioner of the Equality Commission, said: “It is dispiriting that we are at Tribunal once again supporting another case of pregnancy discrimination. I’m afraid this is still all too common and in spite of the legislation being in place for more than 40 years, some employers still seem to be unaware of the law and the consequences of breaching it.
“Every year, around a quarter of all the complaints of discrimination made to our advice line are to do with sex discrimination. Of those, consistently the largest number, around 22% of the total are about pregnancy and maternity discrimination.
“Laura Gruzdaite was 20 weeks’ pregnant at the time she and her husband were dismissed. They had arrived in Northern Ireland ready and willing to work and have started to make their life here. Laura’s husband has since found other work and she is caring for their baby."
McGrane Nurseries apologised to Laura for the distress caused and said it is working to rectify its policies.
“We acknowledge the findings of the Equality Commission.
"We have engaged the services of a professional HR company who are assisting us, along with the Equality Commission, in implementing a series of policies and practices to ensure we meet the highest standards in relation to the issues highlighted in the judgement of this case.
“This situation should never have occurred. We apologise to Laura for the upset caused to both her and her family and hope that this ruling will allow them to move forward."