Manager ‘was bullied’

MARK Warner Holidays agency sales manager Deborah Aspland was bullied by her employers and effectively demoted after falling pregnant, a sex discrimination employment tribunal has heard.

Aspland, who now has a baby boy, is claiming £50,000 from Mark Warner.

She is claiming injury to feelings and loss of earnings and compensation for future earnings because of alleged bullying after discovering she was pregnant in January this year.

Mark Warner denies the claims, being heard by the Central London Employment Tribunal, which is due to rule today.

Aspland told the tribunal: “I felt I was being bullied because I was pregnant. It was unjustified treatment given my dedication and loyalty to the company during my five years’ service.”

She claimed to have suffered difficulties during her pregnancy and was effectively demoted by having her reporting lines changed, put on statutory sick pay instead of full pay, and forced to see a company doctor.

Following company redundancies, Aspland confronted her then line manager, associate director Jo Powell, in January about any potential changes in reporting structure that could lead to redundancy.

Aspland was reassured there were no plans to do so “now or in the immediate future”, but in March her line manager changed to commercial manager Lawrence Assock.

The company placed her on statutory sick pay after Aspland had used up her 22 paid annual sick days by March, incurring lost earnings of £3,223 from her £25,000 salary.

Powell dismissed the claim, telling the tribunal the “whole company had been sympathetic” to her problems but it could not pay her “indefinitely”.

She said Aspland had not been demoted but a restructure of the company had seen Assock made responsible for sales.