Tribunal hears of Loretto 'bullying'

AN EMPLOYEE at one of Scotland's most exclusive private schools suffered a miscarriage after being bullied by the headmaster, a tribunal has heard.

Admissions officer Fiona Gordon is suing Loretto School in East Lothian over alleged sex discrimination after she claims she was targeted for taking maternity leave.

She claims headteacher Peter Hogan started bullying her after she told the 8,700 per term school that she was pregnant.

Yesterday she told an employment tribunal in Edinburgh that she was informed of changes to her employment just one month before she was due to give birth.

She claimed she miscarried a different pregnancy because of the stress of the job when she returned from maternity leave.

She told the panel: "When I was eight months pregnant I was told alterations would be made to my terms and conditions.

"When I returned to work in January this year decisions had been made during that time which in effect meant I had been demoted."

Mrs Gordon went on to described the effect that the miscarriage had on her, leading to sick leave between February and March this year.

A spokesperson from the school said: "Loretto will play a full and supportive role throughout the employment tribunal proceedings and will defend the school's position on any issues raised during the process."