Miss C Hollowday v Impact Sales Recruitment Limited (in liquidation) — 2020

Miss Hollowday brought a pregnancy discrimination claim after being interviewed twice and then offered a recruitment role on a salary of £18,000. After she disclosed that she was 18 weeks pregnant, the respondent said it had no issue employing someone who was expecting, but told her it was unhappy that she had not been upfront at the start of the process. The tribunal rejected the respondent's explanation that the offer had been withdrawn because she was dishonest, and also rejected the alternative explanation that recruitment had been paused because of a director's family circumstances, pointing to the second interview and the later invitations for the claimant to meet the directors.

The tribunal held that the respondent contravened section 18 Equality Act 2010 by treating the claimant unfavourably because of pregnancy, and made a declaration of unlawful discrimination. It also found, for completeness, that the claimant was not dishonest or lacking in integrity. For compensation, the tribunal accepted four months' net loss of salary and calculated that figure at £1,323 per month, producing £5,292. It then made an injury to feelings award of £4,000, describing the case as a single isolated act that fell within the lower Vento band and justifying a mid-point award. The total award was £9,292. The judgment records a proposed start date of 15/8/2020 at paragraph 4, but the compensation calculation at paragraph 20 was made on the basis of 15/8/2019.