Anna McKnight was living the dream life when she learned that she was pregnant with a beloved child to be. The 28-year-old held a job as a restaurant manager at a tapas joint when she told her boss and co-workers the good news that she had finally gotten pregnant after trying for some time. However, her boss did not respond well to the announcement and proceeded to take McKnight off of multiple shifts and eventually fired her because her body was going through changes due to the pregnancy.
When her boss texted her “no hard feelings” after she shared the amazing announcement that she had gotten pregnant, she lost her job. Now, she has filed a lawsuit against the boss and the restaurant where she used to work and is proud to share the good news that she won fifteen thousand British pounds in the process, which is more than seventeen thousand American dollars.
McKnight felt “ostracized” after she told her boss about her pregnancy. And when she began experiencing sickness as a result of growing a baby human being inside of her belly, she was taken off work shifts and given fewer opportunities to let her skills shine.
After the 28-year-old restaurant manager learned from the human resources department that her employment at the tapas restaurant had been terminated, she was left “surprised and upset” since she knew it was her pregnancy that had cost her the job.
Following her termination, her boss at the tapas restaurant, Jonny Carruthers, sent her a message over WhatsApp telling her that there were “no hard feelings” for her termination and that it just had to happen for unexplained reasons.
McKnight proceeded to file a lawsuit against the tapas restaurant located in Greenock, Scottland. She claimed to be the victim of pregnancy discrimination and unfair dismissal from employment as a result of her pregnancy. She won the lawsuit and will be awarded nearly twenty thousand dollars for her trouble.
McKnight is now the proud mother of her son Goldie, who is five months old. She won £15,365 as part of her lawsuit victory because she experienced “underhand” termination from employment.
After her court victory, McKnight lashed out at the “stigma” surrounding maternity leave and believes that it needs to be “stamped out” as soon as possible. She added that “companies can’t and won’t get away with treating women this way.”
McKnight first began working at the Fenwick 47 tapas restaurant as an assistant manager in December 2021. She was a model employee who always put the customer first and did a great job while on the clock. The tribunal in Glasgow heard what McKnight had to say about her termination and agreed that she was wrongfully fired for getting pregnant.
McKnight was due to go on maternity leave in August 2022, but she was fired before that could happen.
“In February 2022, she experienced pain and sickness connected with her pregnancy,” the tribunal report stated. “She was open with Mr. Carruthers about this but was largely able to work her usual number of hours. The symptoms were not constant.”