Pregnant Woman, Fired By UK Boss For Morning Sickness, Gets Rs 1 Crore Payout
The expectant mother, who worked as an investment consultant, requested to work from home given her health condition after the pregnancy.
A pregnant woman who was fired for experiencing morning sickness has been awarded over £93,000 (approximately Rs 1 crore) in compensation by a UK employment tribunal. Paula Miluska, an investment consultant from Birmingham, was dismissed from her job at Roman Property Group Limited after requesting to work from home due to severe morning nausea.
As reported by The Independent, her boss, Ammar Kabir, sent a cryptic message on December 1, 2022, stating that the company was “struggling" to manage work in her absence and needed someone who could “be in the office." Along with the message, he included a jazz hands emoji. The tribunal later deemed this message “deliberately vague" and indicative of an unfair dismissal.
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Miluska joined the company in March 2022 and discovered she was pregnant in October of the same year. By November, she was experiencing intense morning sickness and requested to work remotely based on medical advice. In a text to her manager, she explained, “The midwife was saying that at the moment if I can work from home, it’ll be best as these next two weeks are usually the peak of pregnancy nausea due to hormones."
She further inquired about a required health and safety assessment upon returning to work. However, instead of accommodating her needs, the company dismissed her, prompting her to take legal action. The tribunal ruled in her favour, recognising the unfair treatment and awarding her substantial compensation.
Till November 26, there was no contact between Ammar and Miluska as he asked her about whether she was feeling. The following day, he again texted Miluska asking her to work for a few days next week and finish by 4 pm “so it’s not too much."
The Birmingham tribunal revealed that Miluska responded by informing Kabir that she was too unwell to work, even remotely. In her reply, she stated, “Oh gosh, I was just about to message you about taking the week off. I was sick six times today, and if it doesn’t ease up in the next few days, I may need to be admitted to the hospital… I don’t think I’ll be able to work from home, let alone in the office."
Miluska also apologised for her absence in the message which went unanswered until December 1 when her boss informed her that she was being fired in a vaguely-worded text message. Asking her to not take it personally as the company is struggling, he also mentioned, “Romaan said he’s going to clear the days you did so up until the 21st that will be with you today. Hope to see you soon. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do outside of work’, followed by jazz hands emoji.
Ammar, in the employment tribunal, however, argued that he did not mean to dismiss the employee whereas she did not receive any salary from December 1.
Employment Judge Garry Smart decided in favour of Miluska, upholding her claims of pregnancy discrimination. Thereby, she was awarded nearly Rs 1 crore in compensation.
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