Nikita Twitchen, an office administrator at First Grade Projects in Pontypridd, was fired after returning from maternity leave while pregnant again. After working at the company since October 2021, she went on maternity leave in June 2022. When preparing to return to work in February 2023, Twitchen disclosed that she was eight weeks pregnant. Shortly after, her boss, Jeremy Morgan, claimed financial issues were forcing him to make her redundant, but Twitchen questioned the reasoning since he had previously stated the company was doing well.
Twitchen pursued the matter legally, taking it to an employment tribunal. The court found that her dismissal was due to her pregnancy, noting the lack of evidence provided by the company regarding financial hardships. It was also revealed that since Twitchen’s dismissal, the company had rebranded, hired new employees, and made other investments, further casting doubt on Morgan’s claims. The judge ruled in Twitchen’s favor, concluding that her termination was unfair and discriminatory.
As a result of the tribunal, First Grade Projects and Morgan were ordered to pay Twitchen £28,706 in compensation. The judge highlighted that the dismissal caused Twitchen significant distress, particularly given her family responsibilities and financial concerns during her pregnancy.
First Grade Projects responded to the tribunal’s decision, expressing disappointment with the outcome and stating that they were reviewing the situation. However, they have yet to provide further comments or detailed responses to the tribunal’s findings.
