A nurse who was fired for refusing to work weekends has won a "landmark" tribunal appeal, in a what could be a breakthrough for thousands of working mums.
Gemma Dobson, 40, was working as a community nurse in Cumbria when she was dismissed for being unable to comply with new shift patterns in 2016.
Her employer, an Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust North Cumbria, was introducing more flexible working at the time, which meant that staff were sometimes required to work off-peak hours.
However, Ms Dobson had explained that she was unable to do so because of commitments to her children – two of whom are disabled.
The employee was then dismissed on grounds that she refused to work her hours, with the NHS Trust refusing to take her personal responsibilities into account.
After being dismissed, Dobson took her case to an employment tribunal, citing unfair dismissal and indirect sex discrimination, but was unsuccessful.
Last week her appeal was upheld by the president of the employment appeal tribunal, Mr Justice Choudhury.
The tribunal judge described the ruling as a “landmark”, adding that women's disproportionate responsibility for childcare should be taken into account in employment cases.
He said that Dobson's tribunal had "erred in not taking judicial notice of the fact that women, because of their childcare responsibilities, were less likely to be able to accommodate certain working patterns than men".
Choudhury said that "childcare disparity" was something that employment tribunals "must take into account if relevant".
Dobson said yesterday: "I am totally delighted with the outcome of the appeal after my utter disbelief at the outcome of the original tribunal. I have continued to seek justice for over four years now for how unfairly I was treated, with continued support from my husband."
She said that losing her job had had a "huge negative impact" on her mental health, leading her to develop anxiety.
Ms Dobson said: "Being dismissed by my NHS employer, for not working weekends due to my child-caring responsibilities, was a huge shock. I was so upset, I felt worthless and completely let down by my colleagues and managers.
"I have dedicated my entire working life so far to being a kind and caring nurse in the NHS. I continued to work as a nurse part-time, despite having a difficult and challenging family life, in which my daughter requires 24-hour care."
Mohinderpal Sethi QC, who represented Dobson, said: "This is a landmark victory for working mothers everywhere. We sought to show that the claimant was indirectly discriminated against and unfairly dismissed by her employer for being the carer of her two children and are pleased that the president of the appeal tribunal agreed with our submissions."
North Cumbria Integrated Care NHS Foundation Trust said: "The trust notes the judgment of the employment appeal tribunal.
“The trust does not believe that it is appropriate to comment further at this stage given that the matter will return to the original tribunal.
“It is important to note that the appeal tribunal did not find that Mrs Dobson was discriminated against or unfairly dismissed by the trust, which is why the matter will return to the original employment tribunal for further consideration."
The case will now return to the original tribunal, which will reconsider the claims of indirect discrimination and unfair dismissal.
