A woman described by employers as “mother hen” has received nearly £300,000 in compensation after she was fired for being pregnant.

Naomi Hefford was distraught when she heard staff at a surgery, where she worked, discussing how to get rid of her because of her pregnancy.

Hefford overheard one doctor say: “We need to focus now. We need to focus on sacking her and then steadying the ship because that’s going to take up an awful lot of time.”

One doctor referred to her as “mother hen”.

Recording the discussion, Hefford brought this instance of pregnancy discrimination up with HR, which later sacked her for gross misconduct, alleging that she was “rude and abrasive” to staff, undermining the efforts of colleagues. 

However, a panel has now ruled that Hefford was dismissed because of her pregnancy. “We have found that the concerns about [her] conduct were trivial up to the date on which she announced her pregnancy.

“Thereafter, a meeting took place which discussed her potential dismissal. The process from then on which ultimately led to her dismissal was connected to her pregnancy.

“This was the catalyst that started the chain of events.”

The panel has found five doctors guilty of pregnancy discrimination, victimisation, unfair dismissal and breach of contract.

Hefford has been given £294,372.72 in compensation.

SPUC comment

A SPUC spokesperson said: “There is an anti-child, anti-mother bias at work in our society, blighting the careers of women and leading to a toxic anti-life atmosphere.

“Such discrimination goes hand in hand with abortion, whereby many desperate women are coerced into by employers, abusive partners or other circumstances.

“Society must cultivate a safe and unprejudiced working environment for mothers that assists them and their families. This would be true empowerment.”

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