JANE HAD just been promoted to manager in her company. She was so happy having sacrificed so much in her life. She had come from a poor background and had been determined to change her future. Fiercely ambitious, she had slaved at this company for nine years.

But Jane was now in her late thirties and has realised that she had become distinctly broody. Recently, anytime she saw a baby, she would feel a lump in her throat. She longed for children and having achieved her goal of advancing up the company ladder, decided to start a family with her husband.

Within two months, Jane was pregnant. She was ecstatic. Who would have thought? The ‘Iron Maiden,’ as colleagues called her behind her back, was going to be a mum.

After Jane had completed the first trimester of the pregnancy, she approached her line manager, Mr Roberts, and told him of her good news. At first, there seemed to be a stifled silence, but he quickly smiled and congratulated her. Jane was so happy. She would take maternity leave for 12 months and be back to work in no time.

However, within a few weeks Jane noticed that the atmosphere in the office had turned frosty. Mr Roberts was withdrawn and there were suspicious looking glances darted in her direction by colleagues.

UNFAIR DISMISSAL – IT CAN HAPPEN TO ANYONE

One afternoon, Mr Roberts called her into a meeting and said that there were problems with her work and several clients had complained about her attitude. Due to the numerous complaints they would have to let her go. This amounted to misconduct and therefore her employment would be terminated without notice and she would have to leave immediately.

It all seemed like dream that had tuned into nightmare. One moment she had been promoted, the next she was fired. Deep down, Jane knew it had nothing to do with her performance and that the tables tuned against her when she announced she was pregnant.

WHAT IS UNFAIR DISMISSAL

Essentially, this occurs where an employer did not have a legitimate fair reason to dismiss an employee OR the employer did have a fair reason, but the matter was dealt with unfairly.

Normally an employee must have one year’s continuous employment before they can bring a claim for unfair dismissal, but there are exceptions to this requirement.

An example of an exception to this one year minimum requirement would be in the above case where the dismissal was related to the employee's pregnancy or maternity rights.

DISMISSAL ON THE GROUNDS OF PREGNANCY OR MATERNITY RIGHTS

If you are pregnant, you cannot be fairly dismissed because of any reason connected with your pregnancy

WHAT CAN I DO?

Your may be entitled to bring a claim for unfair dismissal at an employment tribunal. Normally a claim must be brought within three months of the last day of employment.

The Tribunal is quite strict with this time limit and if your case is presented late, it could be struck out. The claim must be lodged using the prescribed form ET1 which can be obtained from the Employment Tribunals Service website www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk. Employees may bring such claims themselves, either with or without representation.

However, I would advise you to seek legal advice from your local law centre, Citizens Advice Bureau or specialist employment solicitors. If you need the assistance of a solicitor who has an employment legal aid franchise, visit this website to locate a solicitor near you. www.legaladviserfinder.justice.gov.uk/AdviserSearch.do

Welcome to OJN is on the case, the intention of this column is to provide you with straight, no nonsense, shoot from the hip legal advice on matters that affect people everyday.