Ms Z Porter v Luxford Bar Ltd — 2019

Ms Porter worked for Luxford Bar Ltd from 13 January 2018 until 13 June 2018. The tribunal treated the live complaints as automatic unfair dismissal and pregnancy/maternity discrimination, and recorded the complaints about arrears of wages, holiday pay and notice pay as dismissed on withdrawal. It applied section 99 ERA 1996 to the dismissal complaint, and section 18 Equality Act 2010 and the burden-of-proof provisions in section 136 to the discrimination complaint.

The tribunal found that Ms Porter was pregnant when she started work, told colleagues in February 2018, and told Ms Holder in a private meeting in March 2018. It accepted that the 23 March 2018 meeting covered her pregnancy and intended maternity leave, but held that she could not qualify for SMP because she had not met the statutory service requirement. It also rejected the allegations that Ms Osei and her friends made adverse pregnancy-related comments, finding that there was no supporting evidence for them.

On the dismissal, the tribunal found that the respondent was facing financial difficulties, had reduced opening days and hours, and had reduced staff levels. It accepted that Ms Porter was selected for redundancy after consideration of her probationary status, her 121 meeting notes, work completion, and concerns about comments relating to the new supervisor Elizabeth. It found that the principal reason for dismissal was redundancy, not pregnancy, childbirth or maternity, and therefore dismissed both the automatic unfair dismissal complaint and the pregnancy/maternity discrimination complaint.

The tribunal noted that the dismissal process was not ideal, including the absence of written confirmation and an appeal process, but that did not alter the outcome on the pleaded claims. No monetary award was made.