Mrs F Kite v B&Q Limited — 2021

The tribunal found that Luke Thorne made comments about the claimant's prospects of promotion during pregnancy and after maternity leave, but held that, in the circumstances, those comments were not unfavourable treatment. The tribunal also found that Adrian Barnett did not tell the claimant she would not be promoted because she was pregnant or because she would have had time out of the business on maternity leave.

The pregnancy and maternity discrimination claim succeeded in relation to Mr Barnett's criticism of the claimant's performance and attitude, including saying she had to prove herself within region 7 before maternity leave. The tribunal found that Mr Barnett treated the claimant unfavourably because of her pregnancy-related illness and absences, including making her uncomfortable about leaving work when unwell, not accommodating requests for minimal late shifts until she obtained a fit note, the incident on 8 September 2018, and his response to the fit note on 11 September 2018. It also found that the failure to encourage her to apply for the Abingdon deputy manager role derived from the same discriminatory assessment of her suitability.

The victimisation claim failed. Although the tribunal identified weaknesses in Craig Black's grievance appeal outcome, it did not infer that the appeal was rejected because the claimant had raised a grievance or brought tribunal proceedings.

The tribunal held that the repeated discrimination and the inadequacies apparent in the grievance appeal outcome amounted, together and separately, to a fundamental breach of the implied term of trust and confidence. It found that the claimant resigned in response to that breach, so her resignation amounted to constructive dismissal and unfair dismissal.