£25k payout | Boss called pregnant worker 'pathetic' for taking 5 minute break

A care home worker has been awarded £25,000 after her boss called her "pathetic" for needing a five minute break.

Wales Online reports that an employment tribunal was told Anna Burns, who was four months away from giving birth, asked to take a short tea break while working at a care home in Kent, only to told she was "treating her pregnancy as an excuse not to pull her weight".

An employment judge heard that Burns’ bosses accused her of already taking too many breaks that day, and refused to let her have another break in the afternoon. Burns added that her boss called her "pathetic" following this incident.

The next day, Burns went off sick and filed a grievance, citing an "ongoing culture of bullying and discrimination due to her pregnancy".