A PREGNANT recruitment manager has won a £10,000 pay-out after she was sacked while ill with morning sickness.
Rosie Caunt told Gemma Ferridge Gunn to “stop faffing” when the mum-to-be said she was struggling with nausea, it’s alleged.
2
2
The mean boss also asked her employee whether her condition was “contagious” before blasting: “I’m sorry I’m not sympathetic, but I’ve never been pregnant“, it’s said.
Mum-of-two Mrs Ferridge Gunn was sacked just eight days after telling her new employers she was expecting – and two days after she was forced to go home when she suffered sickness at work.
But an employment tribunal has now awarded her a whopping £9,594 in compensation after concluding she was the victim of discrimination.
The hearing in Liverpool was told Mrs Ferridge Gunn, 39, joined Blackpool-based firm Alcedo Orange in January 2020.
The company specialises in providing staff for care homes.
However, within weeks of joining, owner Andrew Boardman and Ms Caunt began to have “concerns” about her “difficult” attitude, it was heard.
“She did not immediately fit into the culture of the organisation, which was very team-orientated,” it was said.
“This caused bad feeling amongst her colleagues, who found her dismissive and negative.”
Following a meeting about her performance, Mrs Ferridge Gunn told her employers she was pregnant.
Shortly afterwards, Ms Caunt sent her home after she suffered morning sickness while at work.
The boss asked her if she had a virus and how long she was likely to be off for, before admitting she wasn’t “sympathetic”, it was heard.
Mrs Ferridge Gunn returned to work the next day but left early to attend her first midwife appointment.
The next week, she was sacked, with bosses saying her work performance was “below par”.
Baby Maisie was born eight months later.
Mr Boardman told the tribunal this week he’d fired the mum for her “poor performance and poor attitude” – but judge Ann Benson found the decision had been influenced by Mrs Ferridge Gunn’s pregnancy.
‘NOT SYMPATHETIC’
She said the tribunal had drawn “inferences” from Ms Caunt’s conversations.
“We find that the comments, particularly that she was not sympathetic, were pointed and showed a lack of empathy,” Judge Benson said.
“When Ms Caunt spoke to Mr Boardman about (Mrs Ferridge Gunn), she advised him that the recruitment process was not working and having (her) as a recruiter was unsustainable.
“In essence Ms Caunt was saying to Mr Boardman (she) could not continue in her role. In doing that when she did, we consider that the claimant’s pregnancy was a significant influence upon her view.”
Mrs Ferridge Gunn, who was represented at the hearing by husband Jason, was awarded damages for injury to feelings.
However, she lost her claim for unfair dismissal after the tribunal ruled that, while she had been discriminated against, her pregnancy wasn’t the reason she was sacked.
