Can you get rid of a pregnant lady?

pinkshoes

sparkles. wrote: »

My personal understanding is that the dismissal of any pregnant woman will be considered discriminatory unless it can be proved otherwise although I am not completely sure about the time limits. Although this does not mean that you can not dismiss a pregnant woman it is a complete legal minefield and without proper advice could be much more costly to defend than it is to deal with through the legal channels and as the case law previously cited shows the inability to complete a temporary or fixed term completely is not a reasonable reason to dismiss.

This makes it SO unfair on the employer!

Just say this woman wasn't pregnant, but was infact leaving the country in December to start a job/life abroad, but only mentioned this to the employer AFTER she'd started the job. Surely you'd be allowed to sack them for obtaining the job through deceipt, knowing full well that completing the temporary contract was physically impossible? Why is it any different in this case?

Was it made clear in the interview that it was a temporary position to cover someone's maternity leave?

Savvy_Sue

pinkshoes wrote: »

Was it made clear in the interview that it was a temporary position to cover someone's maternity leave?

I think the OP has already said it was ...

Horace

I think that the friend with the problem should not only seek legal advice and quickly but should also try speaking to ACAS.

fengirl_2

The fact that this was advertised as a temporary job does not mean that the employee is obliged to run the whole course. Any contract has to be capable of being terminated on either side and so the employee is free to leave at any time.

The employer can only dismiss the employee during the first 12 months due to poor performance, redundancy or gross misconduct and these do not apply.

I would be interested to see what ACAS have to say, but my feeling is that this employer is stuck with it.

gordonstights

fengirl wrote: »

The employer can only dismiss the employee during the first 12 months due to poor performance, redundancy

If redundancy is an option, hypothetically, wouldn't this be a cheaper option than keeping this woman on and having to employ a third person to cover the two maternity leaves?

ohreally

gordonstights wrote: »

If redundancy is an option, hypothetically, wouldn't this be a cheaper option than keeping this woman on and having to employ a third person to cover the two maternity leaves?

This would be a non starter given the original scenario was to bring on board an additional member of staff, to subsequently make her post redundant and then start someone else may not be a prudent move.

v0id

She applied for a job to cover another member of staffs maternaty leave.
If she can't do that because she herself is pregnant is she not fullfilling the job description?

CarolynH

Miss_Pixie wrote: »

My friend has read the thread and would like to thank everyone for their responses. It's given her some ideas to think about and she will take professional advice before making a decision.

Please keep us posted hun. I'm mostly nosey. But also would like to know what the solicitor says for my own job. (I'm payroll/HR NOT pregnant before anyone asks!!!)

pinkshoes

v0id wrote: »

She applied for a job to cover another member of staffs maternaty leave.
If she can't do that because she herself is pregnant is she not fullfilling the job description?

I agree with this.

If someone applied for a job and lied about being able to use a certain piece of software, got the job, then obviously struggled, the company would dismiss them for being incapable of filling the job description. Likewise, if someone applies for a position to cover a maternity leave, knowing that there is no way they can do that, then surely that would be a suitable case for dismissal??

What do I know?! I'm no lawyer! I'm just a girl who works hard, and gets really annoyed when people like this give other women a bad name for taking the p*ss with employment laws! It wouldn't surprise me if no one ever wanted to employ a woman of breeding age one day!!

cazziebo

Please! I think people are saying what they think should happen rather than the facts - and this is getting dangerous.

1, There is no requirement for a woman to disclose her pregnancy to an employer prior to 25 weeks. This also includes pre-employment

2. A woman can not be discriminated against because of her pregnancy. If failure to fulfil the term of a contract, or indeed meet attendance standards is because of pregnancy then the woman's employment is protected.

3. Any dismissal because of pregnancy is automatically unfair and can be heard at tribunal with no qualifying length of service

I'm not getting into the moral rights and wrongs, that's the legal situation.

Your friend needs to seek good legal advice to find a way out of this. I agree it's an unsustainable situation, and she has to look after the needs of the business. A good lawyer will help her do that.