A mum has won more than £28,000 after her boss sacked her for getting pregnant while on maternity leave.
Nikita Twitchen, 27, was preparing to return to her office administrative position after having a baby when she discovered she was pregnant again.
But CEO Jeremy Morgan, 49, fired her from her job before she returned to prevent her from taking another 36-week maternity leave.
Ms Twitchen became unemployed and was forced to take cleaning jobs while pregnant to support her family.
She took construction services company First Grade Projects to an employment tribunal where a judge ruled she had been unfairly dismissed.
Jeremy Morgan, 49 (pictured), was found to have unfairly sacked Nikita Twitchen because she was pregnant.
Judge Havard ordered First Grade and Mr Morgan to pay compensation totaling £28,706. (An overview of First Grade Projects)
Ms Twitchen, from Porth, Rhondda, was hired in October 2021 as an office administrative assistant and described her working relationship with Mr Morgan as “very good”.
She told the Cardiff court they got on well and he was “very responsive” when she needed to talk to him.
But she became pregnant and took maternity leave in June 2022 at her offices in Pontypridd, South Wales.
Eight months later he had a return to work meeting with Mr Morgan which “started positively”.
Morgan said business was going well and he had recently secured a contract with the NHS.
He said he was looking forward to Mrs Twitchen’s return.
But towards the end of the meeting, Ms Twitchen revealed she was pregnant again, although only at the eight-week stage.
The court heard this “came a shock” to the boss.
When her maternity leave came to an end on March 26, no one from First Degree contacted her to confirm her return to work.
He expected to return on April 3, but had to search for a reply to his message to Mr Morgan.
Finally, he texted her saying, “It’s best to leave it until you have your routine established.”
She called three times with no answer, but later in April he called her again to tell her that she was being fired due to financial difficulties and late payments to the company.
He later claimed that new software was being installed, meaning his role would “no longer exist”.
Employment judge Robin Havard said she should be “congratulated” for working from June to October 2023 at a laundry and caravan park.
The judge criticized First Grade for failing to “present any evidence of the alleged financial difficulties or the new software” during the court process. (A general view of the First Grade Project offices)
She cleaned caravans in the summer “in very hot conditions, traveling 45 minutes each way, until she was 39 weeks pregnant”, the judge said, adding that Ms Twitchen needed a job for her family’s financial stability.
The judge also noted that Morgan had initially made no mention of financial difficulties or layoffs.
The judge criticized First Grade for failing to “present any evidence of the alleged financial difficulties or the new software” during the court process. At no time did Ms Twitchen receive a written statement setting out the reasons for her dismissal.
Judge Havard determined that Ms. Twitchen was fired because she was pregnant.
The judge highlighted Mr Morgan’s “change in attitude” after learning of the pregnancy.
He also noted the change in their “speed of response” to messages and the “complete lack of any coherent evidence-based alternative explanation” despite ample opportunities to provide one.
The judge concluded that Ms Twitchen’s dismissal was unfair, discriminatory and must have caused her “real anxiety and distress over a period of time as she was dismissed when she was pregnant and lost her sense of financial security with all the family responsibilities she had.” “.
Judge Havard ordered First Grade and Mr Morgan to pay compensation totaling £28,706.