My child is at a nursery, whose owners, IMHO, don't value their staff. One of the employees has confided in me that the day they found out she was pregnant, she was served with a written warning for a trivial matter. Furthermore, another employee has also announced her pregnancy and has also been issued with a written warning. She told me that no other staff have been issued written warnings despite committing the same supposed infraction. Apparently the nursery has never had any staff that have been pregnant (they are a fairly new company). Can they do this? I mean the fact that they are quite clearly (from my perspective) lining the 2 girls up to be fired. I don't feel it is my place to get involved, but I am seething at the injustice of it and want to counsel this girl.
Issues that are completely irrelevant to the crux of the matter are: I am unable to move my child from the nursery, as it is the only one around, and my only childcare option; the girl is in her early 20s, unmarried but has a partner; they are currently living in a hostel (as neither has the financial means to rent - he has just started a new job that is very badly paid); the nursery owners in question are apparently seeking to expand the business, which would indicate to me that they are not struggling to survive.
I read somewhere that only 5% of cases brought to Industrial Tribunals end in success for the applicants - and then the average payout is only £5K. If this is true, then what advice can I give this girl to support her - and the future welfare of her unborn child. Also, my employer only gave me 6 weeks maternity pay at 90% of my basic salary. If this is the legal minimum, and bearing in mind how poorly nursery staff are paid, surely the maternity pay obligations of the nursery would only amount to a little over a grand for each girl? I can't understand this, and wonder if someone who has a better knowledge of the system can give me a bit of clarity. Thanks for reading.
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Legal eagles? Employers trying to sack PG staff
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Clippedwings · 25/04/2012 14:04
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