Former Neath RFC owner Frederick Geraint Hawkes has been found to have discriminated against a pregnant woman while working in a senior role at a wood supply firm. An employment tribunal concluded he mistreated a staff member by telling her "nobody wants to see a pregnant woman".
Tribunal findings
Hawkes was forced to end his 12-year spell as chairman of Neath in 2015 when he was handed a 10-year ban from acting as a company director. The disqualification was imposed after he and his mother failed to declare more than £1.5m in VAT owed by their plywood company. They also filed accounts that included "misleading" information about a loan made to the rugby club.
The 59-year-old went on to become head of procurement for a different wood supplier, Panelex Wood Agency, based in Fforestfach, a suburb of Swansea. The business and Mr Hawkes himself were recently sued by Jessica Morgan, who worked there as a sales manager from 2020 to 2024, starting on a salary of £40,000 a year.
Discriminatory comments
The employment tribunal heard that although Hawkes was not a director, he was "a driving force in the business". There was a period when he and Ms Morgan were the only staff in the office full-time, said Judge Alys Williams.
They initially had a "close working relationship" but when she informed him she was pregnant in July 2023, she felt there was a "shift in his demeanour" towards her, as if he considered the pregnancy an "inconvenience". She said she was barred from visiting customers and subjected to "sexist" comments. On one occasion, in November 2023, she suggested she could give a presentation to a client only for Mr Hawkes to snigger and tell her: "Nobody wants to see a pregnant woman, Jess."
She also claimed that when they discussed hiring temporary cover for her maternity leave, Mr Hawkes said he "wouldn't be making the mistake of hiring a woman again". He denied this. Soon afterwards Ms Morgan messaged a friend saying she had been upset by "sexist comments thrown at me recently and making out I can’t do my job". She added: "Not allowed to visit customers anymore. 'No one wants to see a pregnant woman' was what he said to me last week... I was upset!!"
Victimisation claim
Ms Morgan began her maternity leave in January 2024 and became anxious about her position. "She made a number of half-joking comments about ‘having her back’ and offers of help and support, for example offering to advertise for job opportunities on Linkedin," said Judge Williams. "Mr Hawkes was initially engaged but his responses become more and more curt, eventually encouraging her to ‘focus on being a mum’."
In October 2024 they met in a Costa coffee shop to discuss her return to work. Mr Hawkes informed Ms Morgan her job no longer existed as he "did not know where to put her". During the meeting he told her: "Surely he [Ms Morgan's partner] earns enough for you to stay at home." She left the meeting under the impression she could keep her company car until Christmas 2024 and would be paid outstanding holiday pay and maternity pay. Later, though, Mr Hawkes asked for the car back by the end of October.
Although Mr Hawkes denied making discriminatory comments, the tribunal ruled he did so and deemed the claim of pregnancy discrimination to be "well-founded". But that claim was dismissed because of the amount of time Ms Morgan had taken to bring it to a tribunal. However, she succeeded in a claim of victimisation. The tribunal found Mr Hawkes had reneged on the agreement over the company car.
Judge Williams said: "[Ms Morgan] agreed to the termination of her employment on terms, including that she could keep the company car until Christmas. [The company] reneged on that agreement very soon thereafter, as soon as Ms Morgan sought payment of the sums to which she was entitled. The request to return the company car was as a direct response (couched in terms of a 'compromise') to Ms Morgan's request for the wages legally owed to her. The car was used as a bargaining chip for Ms Morgan to receive that money which she had made clear from the outset she desperately needed."
The judge said the way Mr Hawkes spoke about pregnancy did amount to "unfavourable treatment", adding: "It suggests that the way a pregnant woman looks will make her off-putting to clients to the extent that she should not be seen." A hearing to decide her compensation will take place at a later date.
In 2015, Mr Hawkes stepped down from his role as chairman of Neath and relinquished his stake in the club after being banned from running a company until 2025. The disqualification order was granted by a High Court judge due to concerns over his running of a wood supply business named F G Hawkes (Western) Ltd. Judge Andrew Keyser found Mr Hawkes had submitted false VAT returns, as well as misleading accounts that suggested money owed to his business by Neath Rugby could have been used to shore up the firm.
