Case 4110878/2019 · Employment Tribunal
Member L Miller Tribunal Member S Jones Miss C Young v HM Revenue and Customs — 2021
- Case reference
- 4110878/2019
- Decision date
- 17 February 2021
- Jurisdiction
- Scotland
- Judge
- Employment Judge S MacLean Tribunal
- Venue
- Glasgow
- Panel members
- L Miller, S Jones
Parties
2 namedClaimant
Member L Miller Tribunal Member S Jones Miss C Young
Respondent
Key findings
Tribunal's reasoningThe claimant was employed by HM Revenue & Customs as an administrative officer subject to a 12-month probationary period and was also undertaking an apprenticeship. She had absences and leave connected with personal circumstances, including caring responsibilities, earlier pregnancy-related absence and later pregnancy-related sickness. After a first dismissal was overturned because a pregnancy-related absence had not been disregarded, she was reinstated in January 2019.
The tribunal found that before the claimant announced her pregnancy in March 2019, management had supported measures including an apprenticeship extension, flexibility around start and finish times, and a plan to reduce her flexi-time deficit. It found that after the pregnancy was known, Ms Anderson had predetermined dismissal, although the claimant's manager had received HR advice that an extension would be more appropriate and did not recommend dismissal.
The tribunal concluded that the respondent had not shown that the dismissal was in no sense whatsoever on the grounds of pregnancy. It found that pregnancy significantly influenced Ms Anderson's decision-making and her willingness to continue supporting the claimant through the probationary year. Compensation was awarded for loss of earnings, injury to feelings in the lower end of the middle Vento band, and statutory interest.
Claims and outcomes
2 findings recorded| Claim type | Issue or finding | Outcome | Protected characteristic | Award |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pregnancy and maternity discrimination | The tribunal upheld the complaint under section 18 Equality Act 2010, finding that the claimant was dismissed during the protected period because of pregnancy. The judgment's opening declaration also refers to victimisation, but the reasons analyse the case as pregnancy discrimination. | Upheld | Pregnancy and maternity | £29,198 |
| Victimisation | The judgment declares that the respondent unlawfully discriminated against and victimised the claimant contrary to section 39 Equality Act 2010, but the reasons do not set out a separate victimisation analysis or separate remedy. | Upheld | — | — |
Remedy
Monetary award- Total award
- £29,198
- across all upheld claims
- Compensatory award
- £14,577
- compensatory remedy recorded
Legal tests applied
8 references- section 18 Equality Act 2010
- section 39 Equality Act 2010
- section 124 Equality Act 2010
- section 136 Equality Act 2010
- South West Yorkshire Partnership NHS Foundation Trust v Jackson
- Ayodele v Citylink Ltd
- Vento v Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police (No. 2)
- Employment Tribunals (Interest on Awards in Discrimination Cases) Regulations 1996
Official outcome judgment PDF
Gov.uk primary recordThe official judgment PDF on gov.uk contains the tribunal's outcome, reasoning, and any remedy details. Where this page does not yet show extracted outcomes for every claim, use the PDF as the authoritative source.
Published on gov.uk under the Open Government Licence v3.0.
How we got this data
Case essentials (reference, date, judge, venue, country, claim categories) are extracted from the structured metadata gov.uk publishes alongside each decision. Parties and monetary figures are extracted from the judgment PDF text. Key findings and per-claim outcomes require a second extraction pass that is not yet complete for this case — until then, the primary source linked above is the authoritative record. See full methodology.
Named in this case and want it removed? Submit a takedown request. The page will be withdrawn on receipt and the editor will follow up within five working days.