Judge rules employer scrapped performance improvement plan and quickly moved to dismiss the claimant after she disclosed she was pregnant
4 March 2026
A video operations manager locked out her work system while on pregnancy-related sick leave has been awarded more than 73,000 after a tribunal ruled she was unfairly dismissed and discriminated against.
The Reading tribunal ruled that Fresh Cut Video and its director, Mr Pill, moved to dismiss the claimant, Mrs Kaila Farmer, soon after she revealed her pregnancy, dropping plans that had been made to support her through a performance improvement plan (PIP).
The tribunal found that the employer rushed the dismissal process, with employment judge McCooey concluding that this urgency was “inextricably linked” to Farmer’s pregnancy and related absence.
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Despite claims of poor performance, the judge ruled Fresh Cut Video failed to give a “convincing explanation” for the dismissal and determined that pregnancy had “materially influenced” the decision.
At a remedy hearing, Farmer was awarded 73,511.02, including 32,453.12 for financial losses and 18,000 for injury to feelings.
A 15 per cent Acas uplift of 7,567.97 was applied because of procedural failings. No separate award was made for automatic unfair dismissal to avoid double recovery.
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