A pregnant woman has been awarded £14,000 for unfair dismissal after her boss failed to organize her maternity leave properly.

An employment tribunal in Ashford, Kent has heard that Yuliia Khimicheva’s boss told her that “we are not a charity who pay people who don't work” and was fired.

She had been forced to take time off work due to an illness related to her pregnancy, but her manager was not happy with the situation.

Ms Khimicheva joined Key Promotions Ltd. in March 2019 and was still on her probationary period when she discovered she was pregnant.

On July 9 she told her manager, Caroline Edwards, that she would be having a baby and would therefore need some time off, to which she reportedly responded: “I’m too busy for this.”

It seemed that Mrs Edwards had issues about Ms Khimicheva’s performance at work because she had been absent on several occasions due to an illness related to her pregnancy.

On July 26, Ms Khimicheva was informed that she was to be dismissed. Employment Judge Street said: “Mrs Edwards knew of the pregnancy before the date she decided to dismiss Ms Khimicheva.

"That would point to the pregnancy being a factor in her thinking. As a pregnant woman under dismissal, Ms Khimicheva is entitled to a statement of reasons for dismissal and the reasons are mentioned only briefly and in the most general terms."

Ms Khimicheva was found to have been unfairly dismissed and discriminated against because of her pregnancy. The company was ordered to pay her a total of £14,820.

SPUC Comment

A SPUC spokesperson said: “It is sad to see that the wellbeing of both mother and child appeared not to be at the forefront of this company’s attitudes.

“Negative attitudes from employers towards pregnancy can put pressure on women to abort their unborn child.

“A pregnancy should not cause your career to be ended overnight.”