A woman dismissed a day after revealing her pregnancy is bringing a discrimination claim against her employer, as new data shows a sharp rise in similar cases across the UK.
Roy Magara, Founder of Magara Law, is representing the junior employee in the claim. Her case comes as figures from the Ministry of Justice and HM Courts & Tribunals Service show pregnancy discrimination claims have increased by 85% year on year.
Claims rose to 387 in the second quarter of 2025/26, before increasing again to 448 in the following quarter. At the same time, more than 500,000 employment tribunal claims remain outstanding, the highest level on record.
According to Roy Magara, many of these cases arise from routine management decisions where pregnancy is not properly considered. He said that employers often act on performance or probationary concerns without recognising how pregnancy can change the context of those decisions.
Impact Of Pregnancy On Workplace Treatment
The claim centres on a junior employee who had recently joined a professional services firm as a trainee. The role involved informal training and limited structure, with expectations to contribute to live projects without a defined onboarding process.
During this period, the employee experienced pregnancy related symptoms including nausea, dizziness and fatigue. These symptoms affected her ability to participate in long and unstructured training sessions.
Internal communications between colleagues included dismissive remarks about her condition. The employee attempted to discuss possible adjustments, but these discussions were delayed by the employer.
Following a hospital visit, she formally disclosed her pregnancy. She was dismissed the next working day, with the decision presented as a performance issue. The dismissal took place without prior concerns being raised, without a formal process and without consideration of pregnancy related symptoms.
The claimant reported significant distress following the dismissal and required specialist maternity mental health support at an early stage of pregnancy.
Roy Magara said, “In a lot of these cases, the employer does not think they are doing anything wrong. They see a performance issue or a probationary concern and act on it as if all other things were equal.
“The problem is that pregnancy changes the context entirely. If that is not properly considered, decisions that look reasonable on the surface can quickly become unlawful.”
Employers Urged to Review Processes
Magara Law said the case reflects a wider pattern seen across organisations, where decisions appear neutral but fail to account for pregnancy related factors. According to Magara, this often results in unintended discrimination rather than deliberate bias.
“This is a textbook example of an employer thinking they are making a commercial or probationary decision, but falling within the scope of unlawful discrimination. There is usually no overt hostility or explicit bias. What we see instead is a failure to join the dots between performance concerns and pregnancy related symptoms.”
Similar issues can arise during redundancy processes. Employers may follow structured selection methods, but these can fall short where pregnancy is involved. In some cases, employees have the right to be offered suitable alternative roles rather than being required to compete through scoring or interview processes.
Magara added, “Employers often think that if they have a scoring matrix or a fair selection process, that is enough. But pregnancy and maternity cases do not sit neatly within those processes.
“If an employee is pregnant or on maternity leave, they may have a right to be offered a suitable alternative role without having to compete for it. Treating them the same as everyone else is often where things go wrong.”
The increase in claims comes as new protections under the Employment Rights Act are set to strengthen rules around dismissing pregnant employees and new mothers. The changes are expected to increase scrutiny on how workplace decisions are made and how employers evidence their reasoning.