Maltese Woman Fired After Informing Employer Of Pregnancy Seeks Legal Action – And Loses
A Maltese woman who was abruptly fired after informing her employer of her pregnancy ended up seeking legal action to make up for the losses suffered, beginning a five-year-saga.
Back in 2017, Jane* found out that she was pregnant. She had been working in the financial industry with a well-known Maltese insurance company for five months and a half, just a few days away from the end of her probationary period.
Two weeks after she informed the directors of her pregnancy, the management of the Maltese company immediately found an excuse and abruptly fired her from her position.
“I was only 12 weeks pregnant. That same day, I ended up in the hospital with excruciating pain in my stomach, and I was diagnosed with an infection as a result of the shock I underwent,” the woman told Lovin Malta.
“I was left without a job, without money, and without maternity leave – This meant I had to find another job, and we all know how difficult this is when you’re pregnant, cause every employer knows you need to take four months of maternity leave.”
Jane then decided to open an industrial tribunal case, on the grounds of unfair dismissal.
This went on for four years, with Jane claiming that there was some negligence from the tribunal and the lawyers’ side, that led to multiple deferrals.
In 2021, the tribunal case ended, after it had started four years before. The industrial tribunal ordered the insurance company to pay her €8,500 in psychological and financial damages.
Apart from that, the case had found that her dismissal was unfounded and that it was indeed unfair, especially given that she was pregnant.
However, while the tribunal ordered the company in question to monetarily compensate her, the company refused to pay the damages, and appealed the sentence, with the case now moving on to the court of appeals.
The appeals court then found the tribunal’s sentence to be mistaken and stated that it was not a case of unfair dismissal, due to the woman still being in her probationary period.
It also added that she was in the wrong for not informing her employer that she was pregnant in writing, and for not presenting a doctor’s paper proving that she was indeed pregnant, with the court also saying that this went against Maltese law.
“Malta’s courts don’t realise the damage that is done to a couple when a pregnant woman loses her job like that. Such shocking news can also lead to a miscarriage due to the stress undergone, but no compensation was given nonetheless,” the woman lamented.
European law also protects pregnant women, directly stating that “women must not be dismissed from work because of their pregnancy and maternity”, according to Directive 92/85/EEC.
“I’m ashamed to say that Malta’s courts ignored European law by ordering the company to not pay me the €8,500 that I was supposed to be compensated,” Jane said.
“Malta is one of the few EU countries that is far behind when it comes to laws protecting employees, especially pregnant women in the place of work.”
Jane finished off by appealing to Malta’s Justice Minister Jonathan Attard to truly review the current justice system, to ensure that such episodes do not happen again, especially when involving pregnant women.
*Names have been changed to protect the person’s identity
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