A woman who was forced out of her job with estate agency Purplebricks over issues with her pregnancy has won more than £47,000 in damages.
Murron Stewart, 27, began working with the property firm in March 2022 as a local agent before being promoted to estate agent. She was deemed a 'strong performer' at the company and was well-liked by bosses.
Pregnancy and discrimination
Ms Stewart, of Elgin, fell pregnant but, having suffered previous miscarriages, wanted the news kept private. It was announced to colleagues by her line manager. She began to experience health issues relating to the pregnancy, such as morning sickness, and was moved to a virtual team.
Ms Stewart took maternity leave but while she was off a restructuring took place that would change her role on her return covering the Moray area. She returned to work full-time in December 2024 after the birth of her son but dropped down to part-time hours due to childcare in January last year.
Tribunal ruling
She found the workload to be increasingly stressful and was told by bosses she was not performing to the required standard and working part-time was not meeting the requirements of her role. Grievance meetings were then held but matters were not resolved and she resigned.
She took Purplebricks to an employment tribunal who ruled she had been constructively and unfairly dismissed. The tribunal concluded she had been discriminated against by the company on grounds of pregnancy and maternity and/or sex and they were ordered to pay her £27,626.73. A judge added a further award of £18,647 for injured feelings and £1,050 for a basic award.
Impact and award
Ms Stewart, who gave birth to a baby girl last month, had to move back in with her parents due to leaving her role with Purplebricks. She said: "This whole process is deeply distressing for me and my family."
Employment judge Amanda Jones said: "The respondent directly discriminated against the claimant because she had been on maternity leave and/or her sex in that she was subjected to criticism on her performance which was unreasonable and required to meet targets which were not adjusted to reflect her part time hours or the level of referrals made to her by the respondent."
She added: "The reason for this treatment was because of the claimant's caring responsibilities, that no efforts were made to discuss the arrangements for her return to work on a similar basis as she had been working previously and a man in similar circumstances (who had returned from a period of leave) would not have been treated in the same manner."
The Tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that she loved her role and wanted to stay in it. A total award has been set at £47,323.73. Purplebricks have been asked for comment.
