Pregnant advisor has payout elevated to greater than £100,000 after boss fired her for morning illness by sending a jazz palms emoji

A pregnant consultant whose boss sent her a jazz hands emoji when he fired her for having morning sickness has been awarded more than £100,000 in compensation.

Expectant mother Paula Miluska was unfairly dismissed when she was off work with morning nausea and felt ‘horrendous’.

Her boss Ammar Kabir sent her a ‘deliberately vague’ message explaining how the business was ‘struggling’ and he needed to find someone who can ‘be in the office’.

Mr Kabir sent her a text which ended with ‘I hope to see you soon we’ve got a lot of catching up to do outside of work’ followed by a jazz hands smiley emoji.

The emoji shows a smiling face with two palms facing outwards and is said to indicate feelings of excitement and enthusiasm.

Last month Ms Miluska was awarded £93,616 after winning her case at an employment tribunal.

Now, she has been awarded a further £8,800 to cover the time she had to spend preparing for the tribunal, having represented herself, which brings the total to £102,416.

A Birmingham tribunal heard Ms Miluska started working for Roman Property Group Limited in March 2022.

In October that year, the investment consultant discovered she was expecting and the following month ‘started to see the effects of her pregnancy in the form of morning sickness’.

Ms Miluska sent a message to her line manager Mr Kabir when she needed to leave work early because of the increasing nausea.

She told Mr Kabir that she felt ‘really faint’, was shaking, had cold sweats, and felt ‘horrible’, explaining to him that this was a result of morning sickness.

The following day, she sent him a text which said: ‘The midwife was saying that, at the moment, if I can work from home it’ll be best as these next two weeks are usually the peak of pregnancy nausea due to hormones.

‘Also she mentioned that when I go back to work you need to do a health and safety assessment? I’m not sure what that is.’

The employment judge said there were ‘no other text messages’ between the pair until November 26, 2022, when Mr Kabir asked Ms Miluska how she was feeling.

The consultant told her boss she felt ‘horrendous’, adding: ‘I don’t understand why it’s called morning sickness when it hits you all day every day.’

Mr Kabir replied the following evening and asked Ms Miluska if she could go to the office for a couple of days the following week ‘and finish like four so it’s not too much’.

The tribunal said Mr Kabir was going on holiday and therefore there was ‘nothing untoward’ in his request.

In response, Ms Miluska said: ‘Oh gosh I was about to message you about taking the week off. I was sick six times today and if it doesn’t ease up within the next few days I’m going to have to be admitted to hospital.

‘I don’t think I’ll even be able to work from home, never mind the office.

‘So sorry I can’t support you right now, I feel bad.’

Mr Kabir did not respond to her message until five days later on December 1, when he wrote: ‘Hey hope ur OK u probably guessed by now will need to try and find someone to be in the office as we’re falling behind on work.

‘I just want to say I hope you don’t take it personally or see us as bad but we are really struggling.

‘Aside from this, me personally, I’m going to try and see what other opportunities are there I can get you through the door for, just message me when you’re feeling better.

‘Romaan said he’s going to clear the days you did so up until 21st that will be with you today.

‘Hope to see you soon. We’ve got a lot of catching up to do outside of work [jazz hands smiley].’

Employment Judge Garry Smart said it’s ‘objectively clear’ that this text message is ‘bringing the employment relationship to an end’.

The panel said the termination of her wages on that day meant there would be a ‘clean break with no wages from that date onwards’ and they do not believe that this is a coincidence.

They said that due to the ‘undertones of looking for other opportunities’ and the ‘words used in the message’, it is right to conclude that this message ‘amounted to a dismissal’.

In response, Ms Miluska – who works as a model part time – said: ‘I’m confused with what’s going on.

‘I’ve been working remotely as agreed since I told you I was pregnant to the best I can while suffering from maternity related sickness.

‘I’ve secured another allocation despite feeling worse than ever during the peak of morning sickness and now you’re firing me?’

She said it was ‘very out of the blue’ and said she ‘expects’ to be paid for ‘all the days I have worked from home including sick days with commission included’.

Ms Miluska received no further pay from December 1 and despite Mr Kabir trying to argue that the pregnant worker was not dismissed, this was rejected by the tribunal.

The consultant was ‘simply bewildered as to why her colleague, and at that time a person she considered to be a friend, would treat her in that way’.

Mr Smart said: ‘The bad news being delivered is not immediately obvious because it is given in an obscure and indirect way.

‘We find that the message has been left deliberately obscure by Mr Kabir and the person he made the decision with and consequently RPGL.

‘It is obvious that Ms Miluska’s dismissal was because of her morning sickness which caused absence from the office, which is proven simply by the text message sent to her by Mr Kabir on 1 December, 2022, and the preceding messages.

‘The morning sickness and absence are inextricably linked to the problems it caused the business to cover work.’

Ms Miluska’s claims of pregnancy discrimination because of pregnancy-related illness, and unfair dismissal, were upheld.

Other claims made by Ms Miluska were dismissed.