Ellis Taylor: Trainee optician sacked by Bingham and Young after taking time off for miscarriage

A trainee optician has won almost $29,000 after she was abruptly sacked for taking time off after having a miscarriage.

Ellis Taylor, 25, had been signed off for seven days by a doctor because she was struggling to come to terms with losing her pregnancy, an employment tribunal heard.

But just hours after telling manager Chaz Uppal she would be taking some time away from the branch, he fired her in a “brief call” because he would have to find someone else to manage the branch.

Ms Taylor, 22 at the time, sued for pregnancy discrimination as well as unfair dismissal and has now been awarded a £14,588.67 payout.

The tribunal heard she started as a trainee dispensing optician at the Bingham and Young branch in Lincoln in January 2022.

But five months later she unexpectedly discovered she was pregnant.

She later had a miscarriage.

She carried on working but two days later told company director Mr Uppal that she needed time off.

But that evening, as she was closing the opticians, Mr Uppal called her to tell her she was dismissed.

At the Lincoln tribunal, Mr Uppal claimed that he had fired Ms Taylor – before she informed him of the sick leave – because of customer complaints.

However, employment judge Richard Hutchinson said this was “entirely inconsistent” with messages sent on the day.

“The claimant was extremely upset because it was clear that the only reason that she was being dismissed was because of the time off that she was taking,” he said, adding that the incident had affected Ms Taylor’s self-esteem and confidence.

She now works for independent opticians in Liverpool.

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