In the case of Mrs C Holloway v The Durdans Stables Ltd Mrs Holloway was a groom at a prestigious former Epsom Derby-winning facility. She worked 21 hours on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturday mornings.
Mrs Holloway became pregnant with her second child which led to her being furloughed at the start of lockdown in March 2020 about three months before her baby was due.
On 26 February 2021, she said she wanted her days and hours to remain as they had before her maternity leave. It was not until 17 March 2021 that the respondent replied and raised an issue with the days for the first time in a much more formal tone.
Despite saying her terms would remain the same the email went on to say that the hours would be needed on different days, Thursday mornings, full days Fridays and Sundays. These hours did not work for Mrs Holloway as she had already arranged the childcare as per her original days of work.
Mrs Holloway responded by asking for another meeting which took place in April 2021. Mrs Holloway’s father went with her. The respondent, Mr Cooper, and his partner attended with his partner remaining sitting on a horse without dismounting. As a result, everyone else had to stand during the meeting.
This meeting was Mrs Holloway’s attempt to see if there was any room for movement on the days so that she had more than ½ day of her original days. The childcare issue was explained. The answer was no. Mrs Holloway then said that she felt like if she had never had a baby she would still be working there with no problems and Mr Cooper agreed. Mrs Holloway was not able to work around the days offered.
The Tribunal found that the respondent dismissed Mrs Holloway by failing to allow her return to the job she was employed to do and/or failing to offer a suitable and appropriate alternative.
The unfavourable treatment included being closed minded about the dispute about working days and not engaging to find a solution to the issue. Maternity leave is protected leave and to lose employment/income at the end of it is an aggravating factor.
Other aggravating factors include not properly explaining the issue with the days and failing to reply or negotiate with Mrs Holloway. The Tribunal also took account of the indignity of how Mrs Holloway was treated at the meeting with her father where Mr Cooper’s partner held the meeting on the horse forcing everyone to stand.
The Tribunal accordingly decided to award £12,000 for injury to feelings.
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