Woman Fired For Pregnancy Receives 15 Lakh Rupees Compensation

A woman was compensated with 15 lakh rupees after she was fired because she told her superior about her pregnancy.

Charlotte Leitch, 34, who worked in the administrative department at an Essex-based security system supplier chain, was fired from her job after telling her manager that she was pregnant.

Leitch has explained to her boss, who is also a mother, that she is concerned about the welfare of the child as she has experienced multiple miscarriages in the past. Her only consolation was her dismissal from her job.

Her boss claimed that Leitch was not entitled to any maternity leave as she hadn’t signed her new employee contract yet and told her, "We have no obligation to keep you on."

Suggested Reading: Central Government To Grant 60-Day Special Maternity Leave In Case Of Death Of A Child

Woman Fired For Pregnancy

Unfortunately, Leitch lost her baby within weeks of being fired from her job. The employment tribunal, after determining that Leitch was discharged for reasons connected to her pregnancy, granted her 14,885 pounds (Rs. 14,86,856) in compensation.

Leitch had been working for CIS Services as an administrative assistant since May 2021 and earned 20,000 pounds annually.

According to the news outlet, Leich said that after being sacked from her job, she felt "degraded and worthless." She added, "It traumatised me. It had a severe impact on my life. It caused absolute chaos. I couldn't hold down another job; I got panic attacks all the time."

Similar Case

This is not the first time a woman has been fired for reasons connected to pregnancy.

Earlier this year, in November, 38-year-old Donna Patterson of West Yorkshire, England, complained that the supermarket chain Morrisons, where she worked, discriminated against her after she returned to work after maternity leave.

When she revealed that she was pregnant, the company cancelled her job offer to become a confectionary buyer. They also expected her to work full-time despite the fact that she was only contracted for part-time hours and pay after her return from maternity leave.

Patterson represented herself as her lawyer at the employment tribunal and was awarded 60,000 pounds (roughly Rs. 57 lakhs) after she won over her employer.