Louise Manning successfully sued Safetell for sex discrimination
A thirty-nine-year-old woman who was demoted after becoming pregnant has won nearly £60,000 in compensation from her former company.
Louise Manning successfully sued the Dartford-based Safetell and managing director Nick Medlam for sex discrimination on the grounds of pregnancy and maternity leave.
On April 30 the tribunal made the award but ruled she had not been unfairly forced out of the firm.
Mrs Manning was awarded £37,100 for injury to feelings and £20,509 for loss of earnings after the panel found she had been sexually discriminated against 24 times following news of her pregnancy.
Safetell, based in Fawkes Avenue, which supplies security systems to banks and other blue chip firms, was ordered to pay Mrs Manning £34,565.
Mr Medlam, from Tonbridge, must pay £23,044.
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After revealing her pregnancy, the former marketing and national accounts manager was sent a memo by her boss saying he felt "betrayed" and was tempted to dismiss her and take the consequences.
He told her the BMW company car she was due would be replaced with a "runaround" and he cancelled training she needed to be able to join the firm's board of directors.
Mrs Manning, from Essex, joined the company, which has an annual turnover of around £6m, in August 2004.
She gave birth in December 2005 and was demoted twice while on maternity leave.
Her sales targets were reduced from £4.1m a year to £360,000.
She resigned from her £55,000-a-year post in October last year.
The tribunal heard Mr Medlam quizzed Mrs Manning during her job interviews about whether she hoped to start a family.
In a memo to her after her unplanned pregnancy, he accused her of a "lack of honesty".
The tribunal ruled: "The note was derogatory and discriminatory.
"It is not often, these days, the tribunal is faced with such a blatant response to notification of pregnancy."
Speaking after the award, Mrs Manning's solicitor, Julie Stewart, said: "Her injury to feelings award is one of the highest recorded to have been made by an employment tribunal in the past decade.
"The award against Mr Medlam sends a message tribunals will not tolerate anyone discriminating against pregnant women and new mothers in the workplace and if they do, they could find themselves personally liable."
A Safetell spokesman said: "The statement and claims attributed to Mrs Manning in the media coverage in January were exaggerated.
"The company and Mr Medlam accept the final judgment."
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