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We’re barely into 2020 and we seem to be on something of a roll with stories about sex discrimination. Yesterday, I discussed the issue of equal pay.
Only this morning I was flicking through the newspaper and came across another story, this time, concerning pregnancy discrimination.
Helen Larkin was dismissed from her post with the Liz Earle Beauty Company on the grounds of her pregnancy. Her employer was restructuring the company and refused to consider Ms Larkin for two alternative posts within the organisation. This refusal to consider suitable, alternative employment appeared to be motivated by the fact that Ms Larkin would shortly be going off on her period of maternity leave.
This treatment amounted to unlawful direct discrimination in terms of Sections 13 and 18 of the Equality Act 2010. Her dismissal would also be automatically unfair in terms of the Employment Rights Act 1996.
Consequently, Ms Larkin was awarded over £17,000 in compensation. This sum, of course, reflects an element to injury to feelings (the so called Vento Bands or Guidelines). In fact, Ms Larkin was awarded £10,000 in compensation to reflect injury to feelings.
A link to the judgement of the Employment Tribunal can be found below:
A study carried out jointly by the UK Government Department (Business, Innovation and Skills) and the Equality and Human Rights Commission previously discovered that some 54,000 women per year in this country were forced out of their employment for reasons related to pregnancy and/or maternity.
A link to a summary of the research on the website of the Equality and Human Rights Commission can be found below:
Again, as I noted in yesterday’s Blog (New Year, same old story …), we have had anti-discrimination laws in the UK for nearly 45 years and yet we still regularly hear stories about pregnancy and maternity discrimination.
Readers might be interested to learn about the work of a pressure group (Pregnant then screwed) which campaigns to end the ‘motherhood penalty’:
https://pregnantthenscrewed.com
A link to Helen Larkin’s story as reported in The Independent can be found below:
https://edition.independent.co.uk/editions/uk.co.independent.issue.110120/data/9278901/index.html
Related Blog articles:
https://seancrossansscotslaw.com/2020/01/10/new-year-same-old-story/
https://seancrossansscotslaw.com/2019/02/14/hurt-feelings/
https://seancrossansscotslaw.com/2019/07/08/just-blew-it-again/
https://seancrossansscotslaw.com/2019/08/22/the-trouble-with-pregnancy/
https://seancrossansscotslaw.com/2019/09/10/barbaric/
Copyright Seán J Crossan, 11 January 2020
Seán Crossan's Scots Law 