An Edinburgh Employment Tribunal has decided that Royal London Alliance/Scottish Life's treatment of an employee following her pregnancy amounted to direct sex discrimination and has awarded her £9,000 compensation (plus interest) for injury to feelings.

In a judgment critical of Royal London Alliance the tribunal commented that the employers did little more than 'go through the motions' when considering her application for a newly created post. The Equal Opportunities Commission supported her case.

In November 2001 Ann-Marie gave birth to twin girls. Sadly one of the twins, died shortly after being born. One month later she was contacted by Scottish Life and told that they had an external candidate for the promoted post and wished to progress the appointment - even though the post had not been externally advertised. Following a hastily arranged job interview in January Ann Marie learned she had been unsuccessful in her application for the post.
 
The Tribunal commented that "against the background of the trauma of losing a child she was given the new specification and interviewed with undue haste in circumstances where she must have been under considerable stress regarding her domestic situation. So far as the Tribunal were concerned the respondents did little more than 'go through the motions'".

The employee said "I was shocked by the way I was treated at this very difficult time despite my obvious dedication to my job. The Tribunal's decision confirms that the way in which this appointment process was handled was completely unacceptable."

Rowena Arshad, EOC Scotland Commissioner said "Pregnancy cannot be used by any employer as an excuse to treat women unfairly. This kind of discrimination is against the law. Employers who think they can get away with it are not only demonstrating poor employment practice but are also being short-sighted in terms of business acumen as they risk losing the skills and experience of valuable employees".