Asking a female colleague if she is pregnant is sex discrimination

Asking a female colleague if she is pregnant is sex discrimination, a tribunal has ruled.

The ruling came after company director Gareth Hughes asked employee Lesley Coia if she was expecting a child after telling him she had a ‘surprise’ for him.

Ms Coia’s claims were upheld by an employment judge after she sued the company for discrimination and ruled that a male employee would not have asked the same question.

The tribunal, held in Glasgow, heard that Ms Coia, who is in her 20s, started working for Event Medical Groups – which provides medical professionals for private events – in July 2022.

Mr Hughes was a director of the company and worked as a logistics manager, while often working shifts as a paramedic.

Ms Coia told the company director she had a “surprise to tell him” while they were working together at an event in Dundee in July 2023. In response, Mr Hughes “asked if she was pregnant”, the tribunal heard.

The doctor replied: “No, who wants children?”, later telling colleagues that “she couldn’t believe” what had been said to her.

Mr Hughes’ comments left the doctor “astonished and embarrassed”, Judge Shona MacLean said, adding: “He had never made such a comment to her before.”

‘She felt violated’

The tribunal also heard how Ms Hughes offered to “give a hand” to Ms Coia if she was not already pregnant.

And later, as she walked away, he reiterated that “the offer still stands.”

“She was shocked when she interpreted the comments as proposals to have sex. At home she cried because she felt violated because her line manager said what he did,” Judge MacLean said.

The following day, Ms Coia raised her concerns with the company director about “not being paid or treated fairly” in the company and also addressed the “incident” with him, the tribunal heard.

During the conversation, Mr Hughes asked her again if she was pregnant, to which Ms Coia replied: “What the f**k.”

Ms. Coia warned him that his comments could be “actionable” due to “possible sexual harassment” and resigned with immediate effect in early August.

A disciplinary panel was set up at the events company following Mr Hughes’ comments, but the panel rejected her complaints.

One employee who was asked to be involved in the panel said he was aware of the pregnancy comment, but said it “should not be taken as a personal insult” and was instead said as a “sarcastic remark” .

Another male employee also made a comment to a colleague about “not being able to take a joke” and accused Ms Coia of complaining “for attention”, the panel heard.

‘Sexually harassed’

Ms Coia said her colleagues’ comments made her feel “that she was not being listened to and that the matter had already been decided”.

After the panel dismissed her complaints, Ms. Coia sued the company for discrimination, alleging that she had been sexually harassed.

At the tribunal, Mr Hughes tried to argue that he had asked Ms Coia if she was pregnant because he had a “health and safety concern” and wanted to know if they needed to carry out a risk assessment.

However, the tribunal accepted Ms Coia’s complaints of discrimination and awarded her £6,569.42 in damages for “her hurt feelings”.

Judge MacLean said: “In the Tribunal’s view, (Mr Hughes) tended to speak before thinking and found his comments humorous.

“He did not appear to be aware that his comments were sometimes inappropriate, especially given his position within the organization.

“The Tribunal considered it more appropriate to consider how (Mr Hughes) would have treated a male doctor in his 20s and advised him that he was in for a surprise.

“Although the Tribunal considered that Mr Hughes was likely to attempt a humorous response, the Tribunal did not consider that he would ask (a male) comparator whether he was having a child and whether he would not offer sex to help achieve that .

“The Tribunal concluded that this was less favorable treatment and the reason was that (Ms Coia) was a woman.”