In 2018, A pregnant receptionist was dismissed after suffering from hyperemesis. Mrs K Nasreen won her case for discrimination against her former boss Dr Ali Malik of Malik law services. Before falling pregnant, Nassreen and her manager had a good relationship, however things soon changed. When she announced her pregnancy, she also spoke to Malik privately and expressed the struggles she had faced for herself and husband to fall pregnant, and made him aware of the sickness she had been struggling with since the first week of her pregnancy, therefore warning him she may have future time off sick due to this.
After this, the mood from her manager turned very sour. Malik became hostile and uncooperative towards Nasreen and in January, she stopped receiving her pay. She was working until the 20th of January 2018 so was due to receive a payment at the beginning of February for these hours, which she did not receive. Her last payment was made on the 2nd of January for the hours of December and received a £100 Christmas bonus on the 15th January. The law firm also took none of the usual steps employers need to do when an employee is pregnant. they did not ask for a due date or try to work out maternity leave, nor did they complete a pregnancy risk assessment.
Nasreen fell ill on the 22nd February and text her boss to inform him that she will not be coming to work. She continued to keep her boss updated with how she was feeling, sick notes and when she would be returning to work. Malik never responded to any of Nasreen’s texts. On the 19th February 2018, Nasreen’s husband went to her office to give her boss copies of sick notes along with a letter from the hospital stating she had been suffering with hyperemesis and vomiting, this letter was dated the 5th February 2018. However, the husband was told he didn’t want to see the documentation because Nasreen was ‘No longer needed’. Nasreen had text her boss pleading for him to reconsider but again, was ignored. This meant the pregnant receptionist had been dismissed and she was unsure of the reason.
A remedy hearing was held on the 14th February 2022 and Employment Judge Massarella decided that Malik and Malik Law Services had unfairly discriminated against Nasreen when she became pregnant. They were ordered to pay nearly £24,000 to Nasreen for unfair dismissal, unauthorised wage deductions, loss of statutory sick pay, injury to feeling as well as interest on this. Malik law chambers was shut down by the RA in April 2018 after failing to adhere to the SRA policies.
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