Is Pregnancy a Protected Characteristic?
Jun 11, 2024
Is morning sickness a good enough reason to call in sick? Or is it considered to be much like a cold, where employees can "power through it"? Be careful how you answer...
Let's take a look back at this example...
Ms Anna Burns, a cleaner at Tralee Rest Home resigned after being placed on a “development programme” after four absences in two weeks.
Her manager told her she had “two weeks to improve or that’s it” – which Ms Burns assumed meant she would be dismissed if nothing changed.
That was (one of the many) ways in which the manager showed naivety (not to mention a lack of empathy and understanding).
Burns’s manager also told her she was ‘pathetic’ for needing a 5-minute rest break, that “pregnancy in itself is not an illness” and that it wouldn’t stop them “getting rid” of her.
However, what the manager didn't consider is that:
Pregnancy IS a protected characteristic.
It doesn’t mean you can never dismiss someone who’s pregnant, but it does mean that you have to take extra special care to ensure that you do everything by the book.
Because when you don’t, you lose at tribunal, just like the Rest Home, who had to pay Burns £24,460.52 for “loss of earnings and injury to feelings”.
For avoidance of doubt:
- “Jokes” about pregnancy – not okay
- Ill thought-out comments about pregnancy (especially in relationship to performance and productivity) – not okay
- Threats about dismissal related to pregnancy – not okay
If you DO have any doubt, get some advice. HR experts like ourselves are here to help you so reach out to us.
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