A woman from Blackpool has been awarded almost £10,000 after her boss told her to “stop faffing” while suffering from morning sickness before sacking her a week later.
Gemma Ferridge-Gunn had told her manager Rosie Caunt that she was suffering from morning sickness while working at Alcedo Orange in Blackpool when she was told to “stop faffing”, Lancs Live reports.
Mrs Ferridge-Gunn was sacked just eight days after revealing she was pregnant and an employment tribunal has now awarded her £9,594 after concluding she was the victim of discrimination.
The mum-of-two began work at Alcedo Orange in January 2020 and informed her boss she was pregnant on February 19 of the same year.
The company, which provides personal care and assistance to people living in their own homes in the Blackpool area and is based at Whitehills Business Park, sacked Mrs Ferridge-Gunn just eight days later on February 27 after she had taken two days' leave on February 24 and 25 due to morning sickness.
The 39-year-old was represented at the hearing by her husband Jason and was awarded damages for injury to feelings.
However, her unfair dismissal claim was unsuccessful after the tribunal ruled that, while she had been discriminated against, her pregnancy wasn't the reason she was sacked.
Alcedo Orange maintained that she was dismissed because they were dissatisfied with her performance and that she did not meet the targets set for her.
Mrs Ferridge-Gunn gave birth to a baby girl in October 2020. She had worked in health and social care since 2012.
Her initial job as care manager role at Alcedo Orange involved her recruiting staff but also being on-call for employees and service users, which she described as putting pressure on her and her family life, having recently got married.
In February 2020 she applied for the role of recruitment manager and was successful. However, she claimed she had not been given sufficient training, and during a progress meeting her bosses informed her she was not “getting to grips” with the role.
Managing director Andrew Boardman told Mrs Ferridge-Gunn that her figures were “the worst he had ever seen”.
After informing her boss that she was pregnant on February 19, Ms Caunt asked whether it was a virus, how long was she likely to be off for and said: “I’m sorry I’m not sympathetic but I’ve never been pregnant."
She also told Mrs Ferridge-Gunn to “stop faffing and go home”.
Employment Judge Benson concluded: "We find that the comments, particularly that she was not sympathetic, were pointed and showed a lack of empathy. And we further draw an inference that Ms Caunt was influenced in her view of [Mrs Ferridge-Gunn] by the fact she was pregnant and having to leave work because she was unwell.
"When Ms Caunt spoke to Mr Boardman about the claimant, she advised him that the recruitment process was not working and having the claimant as a recruiter was unsustainable.
“In essence, Ms Caunt was saying to Mr Boardman that [Mrs Ferridge-Gunn] could not continue in her role. In doing that when she did, we consider that [Mrs Ferridge-Gunn's] pregnancy was a significant influence upon her view.
"Having considered the evidence from [Mrs Ferridge-Gunn], it is clear that this discrimination had a significant impact upon her at the time.
“The claimant was pregnant and her dismissal was a shock to her, having not had any performance issues prior to this and happening without any warning.
“She was worried about payment of her mortgage, and other financial commitments with one child to support and a new baby coming. This caused her stress, upset, shock and a loss of confidence.
"This impacted upon her family life and required her and her husband to borrow money from family. This was against a background of the start of the Covid pandemic and its uncertainties and worries as a pregnant woman.
“There was however no medical evidence produced to support that the impact caused the claimant any personal injury more than stress and shock. "
Judge Benson added: "We find that [Mrs Ferridge-Gunn's] employment would have ended at the end of her probationary period, which was a further two months after she was dismissed. [She] was on a three-month probationary period."
Mrs Ferridge-Gunn was awarded £2,171.22 for financial losses and £6,000 for injury to feelings. With interest added the total amount awarded was £9.594.22.
