Miss A Stokes v Glenham Property Management Ltd — 2021

Miss A Stokes was employed by Glenham Property Management Ltd from 19 August 2019 until late August 2020. She told the respondent she was pregnant on 17 June 2020. After a scan on 4 August 2020 she was told the baby had no heartbeat, and her GP certified her absence as due to miscarriage. The tribunal rejected the respondent's disciplinary documents, describing the records of disciplinary action as a fabrication, and noted that the dismissal letters gave inconsistent reasons.

The tribunal found that the reason for dismissal was the claimant's absence following the miscarriage. It proceeded on the basis that the appropriate comparator was a hypothetical man absent for two weeks due to ill health but otherwise performing well, and held that such a comparator would not have been dismissed. Applying the burden of proof under s136 Equality Act 2010, and referring to Igen v Wong and Ayodele v Citylink Ltd, the tribunal concluded that the respondent had not discharged the burden and that the complaint succeeded under s13 and s39 Equality Act 2010 on the basis of sex and/or pregnancy and maternity.

On remedy, the tribunal assessed the case within the lower Vento band and awarded £7,000 for pain and suffering, with £186 interest. It also accepted £3,326.66 for lost wages up to 19 November 2020, when the claimant obtained alternative employment with a letting agent. The separate complaint about failure to provide a written statement of reasons for dismissal under s92 Employment Rights Act 1996 failed because the tribunal found that the respondent had provided letters containing reasons for dismissal.