A NURSING home owner sacked an assistant administrator because his company could not afford to pay for hermaternity leave cover.
An employment tribunal delivered the ruling against Eastercroft House Ltd, Airdrie, North Lanarkshire, which is owned by James Gillespie, over the dismissal of Elaine Johnstone.
The ruling stated: "In our view, this was a cold and calculated decision to dismiss the claimant because of her pregnancy and to put forward another reason for the dismissal as a smokescreen to try to justify the unjustifiable."
In a written judgment, the tribunal also described Mr Gillespie's non-appearance as a witness to rebut allegations of sexual discrimination in connection with the sacking as "intriguing and unexplained", given that Ms Johnstone had directly implicated him as being "the author of her downfall".
The Glasgow tribunal was told that Ms Johnstone, 21, from Craigneuk, Airdrie, was employed as a temporary clerical assistant at Eastercroft House to cover forClaire Kelly, a full-time employee, who was off work after having a baby.
Ms Johnstone started work at the nursing home on November 17, 2003, but continued to work there beyond her 18week contract after Ms Kelly returned from maternity leave on April 6 last year.
The nursing home had opened a new 32-bed unit in November 2003.
Ms Johnstone gave evidence to the tribunal that she believed she was "stepping up" within Mr Gillespie's business but said that about three weeks after commencing her "new post" she discovered she was pregnant.
On Friday, April 30, last year, Elizabeth Mulholland, a director of Eastercroft House, asked Ms Johnstone, in front of two other employees, whether she was pregnant and the worker denied this.
Giving evidence to the tribunal, Ms Mulholland, admitted Ms Johnstone was annoyed at the question but said she had not meant to be disrespectful.
The sacked worker told the tribunal she had denied being pregnant because Ms Mulholland had caught her off-guard in front of two other employees and she was embarrassed.
Later that week, Ms Johnstone privately told the director she was pregnant and said Ms Mulholland was "fine" about it.
Returning to work after a bank holiday weekend, Ms Johnstone said that Ms Mulholland told her not to take her coat off as her employment was terminated with immediate effect.
The tribunal noted: "While Ms Mulholland denied that, and also denied that she had discussed the situation with the owner of the nursing home, James Gillespie, the tribunal formed the distinct view that that is exactly what had happened."
In her evidence, accepted by the tribunal, Ms Johnstone stated that Ms Mulholland told her on the day she was sacked that she had discussed the situation with Mr Gillespie, who said Ms Johnstone had
to be dismissed as he could not afford to cover maternity leave for any more employees. At the time, two out of almost 100 employees were pregnant.
In finding Ms Johnstone had been unlawfully directly discriminated against on sexual grounds because of her pregnancy, the tribunal awarded her Pounds7039 in compensation plus Pounds2500 for injury to her feelings.
At her home last night, with her partner, Steven Renicks, 31, and their three-month-old daughter, Danielle, Ms Johnstone said: "I feel vindicated by the tribunal's decision. I was devastated to be called in and told I was being sacked. I thought I was going to be told I could stay on and may get part-time work after my baby was born. The sacking led me to lose my confidence and run up debt. The settlement will help us to get back on our feet."
Mr Gillespie is the brother of Graham Gillespie, who is a friend and
business partner of David Murray, chairman of Rangers.
Graham Gillespie and Mr Murray set up GM Mining in 1997, to operate the 1200-acre Drumshangie opencast mine nearAirdrie, which it acquired from Scottish Coal.
Formerly a joint venture between Mr Murray and Gillespie Mining, a
family firm, GM became a subsidiary of Mr Murray's metals-to-property empire in 1999. The company employs more than 100 staff at three sites, including two opencast mines in Fife and North Lanarkshire.
Graeme Souness, the former Rangers manager, owned a 50per cent stake in Eastercroft House nursing home before he sold it to his partners, the Gillespie family, for an undisclosed sum, in 1992. The 66-bed home opened in 1988.
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