A pregnant woman who was told 'you will be terminated' by her female boss has been awarded £35,000 for discrimination and unfair dismissal.
Restaurant manager Paulina Bawej, 32, had her rota at the upmarket Japanese eatery where she worked withheld and was told she had to take a £4,000 pay cut when she told her bosses she was expecting, an employment tribunal heard.
Days later the mother-to-be was sent harsh messages from general manager Jenice Kim about 'terminating' her and was then fired.
Miss Bawej - who represented herself during the course of the tribunal - has now been awarded £35,492.31 in compensation after successfully suing Huangs Grill Ltd for pregnancy discrimination and unfair dismissal.
The company runs authentic Japanese restaurants Sushinoen, in Whitechapel, east London, and Taisho, in Golders Green in the north of the capital.
Restaurant manager Paulina Bawej (pictured), 32, had her rota withheld and was forced to take a £4,000 pay cut where she worked at the Huangs Grills Ltd
The company runs authentic Japanese restaurants Sushinoen (pictured), in Whitechapel, east London, and Taisho, in Golders Green in the north of the capital
Miss Bawej - who went on to have daughter Mali, who is now three - said she was 'devastated' by the ordeal, had to move out of her flat and has given up on a career in hospitality.
Speaking today following the case, Miss Bawej said: 'I was very confused. I was surprised to find out that I'm pregnant in the first place.
'I was devastated. In a few days I lost work and I had to move out from the flat I was renting as I was not able to afford it. I lost my income and it was a very hard time.
'After having a child I couldn't go back to hospitality and I've changed my career and become a community care assistant helping elderly adults.'
The tribunal heard Miss Bawej was employed at assistant manager by the company from July 2018, working at highly-rated Sushinoen initially and then predominantly at Taisho.
Ms Bawej - who went on to have daughter Mali, who is now three - said she was 'devastated' by the ordeal
In February 2019, when she learned she was pregnant, Ms Bawej told her boss Yingshang Huang, 34, at a meeting that she was expecting a child.
Mr Huang was 'shocked' and said he needed to speak to Ms Kim, it was heard.
Ms Bawej was told by the pair that she had to stop working at Taisho and work at Sushinoen full-time.
She asked to split her time between the two restaurants - but Ms Kim 'abruptly refused' and denied the request, told her her position had to change, and proposed a £4,000 cut in salary.
When Ms Bawej raised pregnancy rights, Ms Kim texted her: 'This is nothing to do pregnant. I am talking about your position.
'Do not forget. Shang tried to give you chance.
'You will be terminated from Taisho and employed in Sushinoen. Not transferred. I employed you for Taisho not for Sushinoen.
'We have already assistant manager so I do not need it and your salary is higher than normal. So I cannot afford it. It's up to you. If you want come welcome if not is fine.'
Ms Bawej was confused over why she was seemingly being fired from one restaurant and hired to the other, the tribunal heard.
She did not work at Sushinoen as a contract was not drawn up and was dismissed on February 17, 2019.
At the Watford Employment Tribunal, Employment Judge Gary Tobin said the use of the word 'terminated' was a 'threat' to Ms Bawej.
Judge Tobin also 'resoundingly rejected' Mr Huang's argument that she was sacked due to redundancy, which he said was a 'made up' excuse.
He concluded: 'No other explanation fits the sequence of events or appears plausible.
'Huangs Grill has provided no proper explanation as to Ms Bawej's dismissal.
'She was not dismissed for poor performance or misconduct as originally contended. This was not redundancy situation as subsequently asserted.
'We can find no credible explanation as to why she was dismissed, save that this employer dismissed her because she was pregnant.'
Judge Tobin added: 'Such is our dissatisfaction with [the argument put forward by Huangs Grill], we find that Mr Huang's evidence was an attempt to mislead the tribunal.
'Mr Huang was not a reliable witness nor was he an honest historian.
'We are satisfied that he made up a redundancy story, as an attempt to cover up his deliberate poor treatment of this pregnant employee.'
Miss Bawej, from Barking, London, said despite being awarded compensation she has not been paid it and has referred her case to debt collectors.
