Woman wrongfully dismissed because of her pregnancy and maternity leave awarded S$19,800
The woman, who had a good performance appraisal, was told over the phone by her new boss a few days before delivering that she did not fit into his vision of the team.
A woman, identified only as C, was awarded S$19,800 after being wrongfully dismissed due to her pregnancy and maternity leave in a recent Employment Claims Tribunal (ECT) ruling on September 22. The compensation included three months of her gross pay and another three months for the harm caused. C had a positive performance appraisal before giving birth but was terminated by her new boss, Mr EC, who claimed she did not fit into the team's vision.
C stated that she was offered a temporary sabbatical leave, which Mr EC later interpreted as a request for a permanent sabbatical. She was hospitalized due to pregnancy complications in September 2023 and continued to be on hospitalization leave until she gave birth on October 11, 2023. After giving birth, she submitted her maternity leave form with the date fields completed and informed HR about her plan to start maternity leave.
However, Mr EC reportedly called her on October 4, 2023, and informed her that her employment would be terminated after her maternity leave. The tribunal found that the company had no reason to make the unsolicited phone call, as there was no pressing matter regarding C's sabbatical leave that required a decision from the company.
Written by urgent.news from CNA - Singapore's reporting — not their text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.
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