Case study: Rules breached when admissions chief went back to school

FIONA Gordon took the top private school where she worked to court when she felt she was suffering discrimination on her return to work after having a baby.

The admissions director at Loretto boarding school in Musselburgh, East Lothian, won £8,000 after she returned to work only to be told the job had been made redundant as the department was being restructured.

She was offered a more junior post, which also meant a drop in salary. An employment tribunal in July 2010 awarded Mrs Gordon £3,000 for loss of earnings, after her return to work was delayed while the department was being reshuffled.

She was also awarded a further £5,000 for “injury to feelings”.

The employment judge, Stewart Watt, said although the school had been due to re-organise for a long time before Mrs Gordon left, it had nevertheless breached maternity regulations.

He said at the time: “Maternity law states that the claimant should have been allowed to return to her job under the same terms and conditions as before she left.”

The school said it had at no point acted with an ulterior motive and that the breach of regulations had been quickly corrected.