Patricia is a freelance journalist in Lincoln and a university lecturer. She earns her keep by writing news and features, and rants about the nanny state and the smoking ban.
April 16, 2014 2.16 pm
This story is over 120 months old
A rota was created for a male employee who asked for reduced hours when he was ill, day three of the employment tribunal looking into pregnancy discrimination allegations at Pizza Express in Lincoln has heard.
Jennifer Sammut (28), the claimnat, said she was told she could not work day shifts over two or three days because it would be unfair to other staff.
However, the tribunal heard that the male employee suffering stress was given day and short shifts, and these were also made available to Miss Sammut towards the end of her pregnancy, when she became exhausted.
Pizza Express manager Shelley Whitworth says these shifts then disappeared from the rota in May after the male employee left and Miss Sammut went on maternity leave.
Regional manager Steven Brighty chaired an appeal meeting after Miss Sammut’s application for flexible working was turned down. He was accused of bias when he upheld the original decision that flexible working for Miss Sammut would be unfair on other staff.
He said: “I was completely independent and had no preconceived idea of the issues that were brought up and discussed in that meeting.” He said he trusted Mrs Whitworth’s judgement and professionalism based on how she managed the business and treated her staff.
The hearing continues. This story will be updated later in the day.
A Lincoln woman is taking action against her former employers, Pizza Express, who she says sacked her because she was pregnant, claims she was never told that working three days per week was impossible because of other workers’ shift patterns, a tribunal has heard.
Jennifer Sammut (28) told the hearing that she had heard that giving her the hours she wanted would displace the hours other colleagues could work.
She felt the company failed to investigate the times she could have worked properly and based it on incorrect facts.
She also claimed that her allegations she was bullied before her maternity leave started were not properly looked into by her former employers.
She said “I just wanted my job back. I wanted to work, to put clothes on my daughter’s back.”
When put to Miss Sammut again that giving her the hours she wanted would displace other shifts and leave limited rota options for other staff, she said “I only wanted 16 hours – there are 40 to be worked in a week.”
— Updated at 5pm on April 15
There was no intention to discriminate against a female employee who was told she could not return to her job as a pizza chef after the birth of her baby, a tribunal heard.
Pizza Express Manager Shelley Whitworth said all options to accommodate flexible working hours were looked at to help Jennifer Sammut get back to work.
Giving evidence on the second day of the hearing at Lincoln Magistrates Court, Mrs Whitworth said no compromise could be reached between Miss Sammut’s need to work around child care and the firm’s business needs.
“She wanted two days from 9-5 but that was not possible because it would only leave one day shift for five or six chefs to argue over,” she said.
Representing herself, Miss Sammut cross-examined the witness and put to her that she had no experience in handling flexible working applications.
She also failed to give out the correct email address and phone number for Miss Sammut to submit her application, but Mrs Whitworth denied this saying that she didn’t know it and had no reason to use it in the past.
Mrs Whitworth also denied that she told Miss Sammut that she had to put her daughter with a child minder until as late at 10pm in order to be able to work.
“I was throwing out all sorts of options, trying to reach a compromise, but she wanted the hours 9am to 5pm two days per week,” Mrs Whitworth said.
She also denied that she had tried to make Miss Sammut agree to staying on later after 6pm when her child care would no longer be available.
“I just wanted to know how flexible she could be within the hours she had, but I never suggested that she put her child in care until 10pm, nor that she had to stay longer, then maybe a few minutes after her shift ended, for the staff changeover if necessary,” she said.
The tribunal, which continues tomorrow, was told that in arranging flexible working time it was also up to the employee to be flexible enough to reach a compromise that would suit the needs of the employer and employee.
