Woman Awarded £28k Over Pregnancy Discrimination Case

A woman has been awarded almost £28,000 after losing her job at a Co Armagh business for reasons relating to her pregnancy.

An Industrial Tribunal found unanimously in favour of Laura Gruzdaite, who took a discrimination case after she was treated adversely and then dismissed after informing her bosses she was pregnant in September 2018.

The case against McGrane Nurseries Ltd was supported by the Equality Commission.

The 26-year-old, who is originally from Lithuania, said the stress caused by her dismissal led her to fear potential complications in the pregnancy, including miscarriage.

Ms Gruzdaite and her husband joined McGrane Nurseries Ltd, a wholesale plant supplier, in January 2018 and signed a blank contract with no start or end dates. She believed she was coming to Northern Ireland for a permanent job and was not informed at any stage that the position was seasonal.

Announcing her pregnancy to a manager some eight months later, the complainant showed a letter confirming her first ante-natal appointment. The manager failed to inform other staff members about Ms Gruzdaite's upcoming absence and she was later quizzed on two occasions as to why she was absent from work on the previous days- days when she had arranged to be off in order to attend appointments related to the pregnancy.

On 10 October, while Laura and her husband were at an ante-natal appointment, their employers held a meeting at which a group of seasonal workers were given one week's notice of termination. The couple were subsequently called in to meet with their employers on 12 October and informed of their dismissal. Other seasonal workers were kept on by the employer and carried out the duties previously performed by the complainant.

On that day, Ms Gruzdaite's manager said to her: "You will need more days off for your pregnancy doctor's appointment…you already skipped work on Wednesday when you had your ultrasound scan."

Ms Gruzdaite was 20 weeks pregnant at the time. The Industrial Tribunal found unanimously in her favour and awarded her £27,917.60. It was determined that the termination of the expectant mother's contract was tainted by discrimination in that it was connected to her pregnancy and was both unfair and an unlawful act of discrimination.

It was also declared that Ms Gruzdaite was unjustifiably questioned about her absences when she had in fact informed management about the appointments, and the decision to terminate her contract earlier than others was made "because she had been on ante-natal appointments and would be going on more appointments".

Speaking of her dismissal, Ms Gruzdaite said: "On that day I got very upset because both of our contracts had been terminated. We were waiting for our child to come into this world but both of us were unemployed and had no additional income. When I returned to my place of work following this conversation, I felt nauseous, my hands were shaking, and I felt a dull pain and a stretching sensation in my stomach.

"I have suffered a lot of stress following my dismissal from work and had to seek help from my doctor I was very worried that the stress could cause complications or even a miscarriage. We were in a very bad situation for a time and it is a great relief to me to have this all finished.

"No woman should lose her job because she is pregnant and it is important that women challenge such treatment."

The employer accepted that they failed to pay Laura for her time off to attend her appointment. The tribunal also found that a manager was less friendly to Laura after she announced her pregnancy.

Dr Michael Wardlow, Chief Commissioner of the Equality Commission, said: "It is dispiriting that we are at Tribunal once again supporting another case of pregnancy discrimination. I'm afraid this is still all too common and in spite of the legislation being in place for more than 40 years, some employers still seem to be unaware of the law and the consequences of breaching it.

"Every year, around a quarter of all the complaints of discrimination made to our advice line are to do with sex discrimination. Of those, consistently the largest number, around 22% of the total are about pregnancy and maternity discrimination.

"Laura Gruzdaite was 20 weeks' pregnant at the time she and her husband were dismissed. They had arrived in Northern Ireland ready and willing to work and have started to make their life here. Laura's husband has since found other work and she is caring for their baby."



(JG/CM)