Significant compensation awarded to a woman discriminated against whilst pregnant and on maternity leave

In this case, Messum v Bradford Management Services (Bradford), the discrimination of Mrs Messum whilst pregnant and on return from maternity leave resulted in significant compensation.

Unreasonable change of duties

In Messum v Bradford Management Services, Mrs Messum, a qualified and respected member of the HR team, saw a change in her regular duties after announcing her pregnancy. The change saw duties involving heavy lifting introduced. Mrs Messum’s manager also began to question her performance for the first time. After being signed off sick with stress and pregnancy related fatigue, Mrs Messum’s employer failed to pay her sick pay.

The maltreatment continued. Shortly after, Mrs Messum was called to an investigation meeting, with no detail of the meeting provided. When she submitted a sick note to inform her employer that she was not well enough to attend, her employer kickstarted her maternity leave early.

Just eight weeks after giving birth, Mrs Messum’s employer once again called an investigatory meeting, with a threat that disciplinary action would follow if she did not attend. When Mrs Messum informed Bradford that – given her full commitment to the care of her child – she was unable to attend, they suggested that the meeting take place in her home. She was subsequently issued with a warning for a false allegation of stealing food, without recourse to a disciplinary process.

Return to work

On her return to work, rather than assuming her previous HR role, Mrs Messum was assigned unrelated tasks such as housekeeping duties, including cleaning toilets. She eventually resigned, claiming pregnancy/maternity discrimination, harassment and unfair (constructive) dismissal.