Boss laid off staff member because she returned from maternity leave pregnant again

A mother has been awarded more than £28,000 in compensation after being dismissed from her job due to her pregnancy. Nikita Twitchen, an office administration assistant, was let go by First Grade Projects, a building services firm based in Pontypridd and a sponsor of Swansea City Football Club, shortly before she was due to return from maternity leave.

Ms Twitchen had been hired in October 2021 and established a positive working relationship with the company’s managing director, Jeremy Morgan, whom she described during an employment tribunal as “very responsive” and easy to communicate with. However, her employment took a sudden turn after she disclosed her second pregnancy.

Having taken maternity leave in June 2022, Ms Twitchen attended a return-to-work meeting on February 17, 2023, with Mr Morgan. The meeting initially went well, with Morgan noting the company’s strong performance and a recent NHS contract win.

However, towards the end of the meeting, Ms Twitchen revealed she was expecting another child. This news reportedly “came as a shock” to Morgan, who later claimed to have congratulated her, a statement she disputed.

Following the meeting, Ms Twitchen was left in limbo. She was expecting to return to work on April 3, 2023, but received no confirmation from the company about her return. After chasing a response from Morgan, he suggested it would be better to “leave it until you have your routine in place.” When she later inquired about holiday entitlement, Morgan failed to respond substantively, leading to further frustration.

On April 18, Morgan called Ms Twitchen to inform her that she was being made redundant due to financial difficulties and delayed payments affecting the business.

He also claimed that her role was no longer needed due to new software being implemented and mentioned that a workshop manager had been made redundant earlier that year. Ms Twitchen was unaware of any such redundancy and questioned the validity of the explanation.

During the tribunal, it was revealed that there had been no mention of financial difficulties during the February meeting. In fact, Morgan had painted a positive picture of the business’s success.

The company also failed to provide any written statement explaining the reasons for Ms Twitchen’s dismissal. Additionally, since her redundancy, the company had rebranded, hired new staff, and invested in vehicles, casting further doubt on the claims of financial hardship.

The tribunal found that Ms Twitchen had been unfairly dismissed because of her pregnancy. The judge took into account the sudden change in Morgan’s attitude after learning of her pregnancy, his delayed responses to her messages, and the lack of evidence supporting the company’s claims. The judge also praised Ms Twitchen for working at a launderette and a caravan park until she was 39 weeks pregnant to support her family.

The tribunal ruled that Ms Twitchen’s dismissal was discriminatory and caused her significant anxiety and distress, particularly given her family responsibilities and the financial instability she faced. First Grade Projects and Morgan were ordered to pay Ms Twitchen £28,706 in compensation.

First Grade Projects expressed disappointment to WalesOnline, with the tribunal’s outcome and stated they were reviewing their options but declined to comment further.