Woman claims discrimination compensation for ‘pregnancy sacking’

Posted 17/03/2010

A woman who insists that she was sacked from her job as a high-flying executive because she was pregnant is seeking compensation with the assistance of her lawyers.

Sarah Sweeney was a real estate expert at DLA Piper between 1996 and November 2008.

She had been undergoing IVF treatment from July 2008 in a bid to start a family, but claims that as soon as she told her managers she was three months pregnant, she was removed from her position.

Ms Sweeney told an employment law tribunal this week that DLA Piper was run like “an old boys’ club” and that she had been told by one of her seniors that he did not think mothers should be permitted to return to work.

DLA Piper insists that it had to cut some of its staff due to the credit crunch and that Ms Sweeney was the “most dispensable”.

The former employee is seeking compensation for sexual discrimination.

All workers can claim unlawful sex discrimination if they are asked to leave because of their pregnancy and there is no limit to the compensation that a tribunal can award for this.