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Legal matters

Legal eagles? Employers trying to sack PG staff

3 replies

Clippedwings · 25/04/2012 14:04

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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MrAnchovy · 25/04/2012 14:29

She and the other girl should contact ACAS directly. Do not delay because it is likely to be important for each of them to appeal against the warnings within a short timescale.

Be careful when looking at the statistics for tribunal claims - an employer will nearly always try to settle before going to tribunal (often even if they know that they would win because it usually costs more to successfully defend a claim than it does to pay out and costs are rarely awarded to employers in the ET), and even if the settlement is made on the steps of the court it doesn't count in the statistics.

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Clippedwings · 26/04/2012 13:42

Thanks so much for answering. I advised her to go to the Citizens Advice Bureau, but ACAS hadn't even crossed my mind. Thanks for the useful info - much appreciated.

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prh47bridge · 26/04/2012 15:47

Current Statutory Maternity Pay is 90% of gross salary for 6 weeks then 33 weeks at either 90% of gross salary or £135.45 per week, whichever is lower.

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