The Employment and Labour Relations Court ordered Windsor Hotel and Country Club to pay a former employee Ksh2.5 million for discrimination on account of pregnancy.
As reported by Business Daily, Tracy Wangechi Mugambi was sacked as a hostess just after resuming duty from maternity leave on January 18, 2016.
Ms Mugambi told the court that she was employed by the hotel as a hostess in September 2009 and was promoted to the position of supervisor in 2011, where she performed her duties with exceptional and exemplary dedication, competence and to the management’s satisfaction until her sacking.
She was reportedly forced to go on an annual leave after the Hotel’s Banqueting Manager told her that the director had noticed fatigue in her.
However, the Human Resource Manager dismissed the claims stating that she was not a victim of discrimination as alleged but her dismissal was summary.
She defended the summary dismissal stating that Mugambi should have been terminated long ago since she had a record of at least five offences that amounted to gross misconduct.
According to Justice Hellen Wasilwa, however, there was no indication that Mugambi committed any other offence from July 2014 when she became expectant to January 2015 when she delivered her baby.
“The issue of absconding duty is also not raised in the termination letter. This leaves the court with only one plausible reason for termination, being pregnant and delivering a baby,” she stated.
The court ordered the hotel to pay her Ksh2 million for discrimination on account of pregnancy, three months’ salary in lieu of notice, gratuity for working for six years and 12 months’ salary for unlawful termination.
She was also given shoe entitlement of Ksh 18,000 among other compensation all amounting to Ksh2,575,527.
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