Washington. A UK employment tribunal has awarded a pregnant woman £93,000 (approximately ₹1 crore) in compensation after she was unfairly dismissed by her employer. In this case, the woman’s employer fired her via a text message, and the tribunal termed it as unfair dismissal. The case concerns an investment consultant named Paula Miluska. Paula began experiencing severe morning sickness after finding out she was pregnant in October 2022. Her doctor and midwife advised her that working from home would be most suitable for her during this difficult stage of pregnancy. Based on this advice, Paula requested her employer, Ammar Kabir, to work from home.
Paula wrote in her message, “The midwife was saying it would be best if I could work from home at this time as these next two weeks are usually the peak of pregnancy nausea due to hormones. Also, she mentioned that you will need to do a health and safety assessment when I go back to work. I am not sure what that is.”
Employer response and dismissal
Despite this, Paula’s employer Ammar Kabir sent her a text message the next day in which he implied that he needed staff working in the office. Kabir told Paula that she would have to return to work soon and used the “jazz hands” emoji in the message, which was an insulting and insensitive response to Paula. The message did not mention Paula’s dismissal, but its impact was so profound that Paula felt her employer was treating her unfairly.
Tribunal decision
UK The employment tribunal held Paula’s dismissal unfair after hearing the case. The tribunal held that Paula was dismissed because of her pregnancy and that this action was legally wrong. The tribunal ordered Kabir to pay compensation of £93,616.74 to Paula for this unfair dismissal.
Employer’s arguments and tribunal’s conclusion
Kabir claimed during this time that he needed Paula to cover his holiday absence, but the tribunal considered this a mere excuse. The tribunal clearly stated that Paula’s pregnancy was the real reason for her dismissal. The judge also said that Kabir had asked Paula a week earlier if she could work a few days, but later did not perform her role properly.
