£28k payout | Worker laid off after returning from maternity leave pregnant again

An admin worker was let go from her job after telling her employer she was pregnant while preparing to return from maternity leave.

Nikita Twitchen, a former Office Administration Assistant at Genu Prima Ltd, (trading as First Grade Projects), won a claim for unfair dismissal and pregnancy discrimination, resulting in compensation of more than £28,000, after it was determined that her pregnancy was the principal reason for her dismissal.

The tribunal heard that Twitchen began working for Genu Prima, a building services firm, in October 2021, and took her first maternity leave in June 2022. 

In February 2023, shortly before her scheduled return to work, she informed her employer, Managing Director Jeremy Morgan, that she was pregnant again. This announcement reportedly changed the tone of the return-to-work meeting, which had initially been positive. While Morgan had previously spoken enthusiastically about the business' recent success, securing a contract with the NHS, the mood shifted dramatically once Twitchen disclosed her pregnancy, the report said.