A garage worker has won almost £20,000 after her boss disciplined her for being late due to morning sickness before she had a miscarriage.

Laura Herring was late for three shifts, and she admitted that it had been difficult getting up in the morning for her first months.

The tribunal found that the managers of her sales associate failed to stop her from lifting large quantities of newspaper and drinking pints. This could have caused injury to her or her child.

After she had a miscarriage, her boss ‘harassed her’ by asking her GP repeatedly why she wasn’t feeling well.

Although she was still grieving the death of her son, Mrs. Herring was dismissed by the Tribunal for being too upset.

Now the tribunal has ruled she was the victim of pregnancy discrimination and awarded her £19,974 in compensation.

Laura Herring missed the start of three shifts and admitted she was 'struggling' with early mornings in the first few months of her pregnancy. Pictured: Mount Hill Garage

Laura Herring did not start three shifts. She admitted to having difficulty getting up in the mornings the first two months of her pregnancies. Mount Hill Garage

The hearing heard that Mrs Herring was hired as a sales assistant by Mount Hill Garage, Halstead, Essex in 2017.

Tribunal heard that she told her employers in January 2018, she was expecting and was feeling unwell during her first trimester due to morning sickness.

A morning in February 2018 she was particularly sick and ended up being late to the garage for her shift.

Vanessa Johnson, her line manager, received an apology and she sent a message saying that although it seemed like she was struggling in the mornings, my midwife told me to stop by week 14.

Frau Herring received a verbal warning about her tardy arrival at work three times.

The hearing was told Mrs Herring started work as a sales assistant at Mount Hill Garage in Halstead, Essex (pictured), in 2017

At the hearing, it was revealed that Mrs. Herring began work in 2017 as a Mount Hill Garage sales assistant in Halstead (pictured).

Bruce Gardiner is an Employment Judge. He stated that the decision to give Mrs Herring a warning verbally was a direct discrimination based on her sickness as a consequence of her pregnancy.

Mrs. Herring suffered from pregnancy-related sickness which caused her to miss work.

According to East London tribunal, Mrs. Herring was required to transport milk containers that weighed approximately two-stone from the outside to the fridge.

Also, she had to transport heavy newspaper bundles – this could have caused injury for her and her baby.

However, the panel determined that the garage had not done a risk assessment for her work duties.

After being hospitalized for high blood pressure, Mrs. Herring was later unable to work. In the following month, her baby had died.

Tribunal heard that she gave birth to her child – whom she and Harrison named Harrison – but also suffered additional health problems due to the termination of her pregnancy.

John Lovric was the Garage’s Managing Director and asked Mrs Herring to show medical evidence that her absence was due to her grief over her son.

Private occupational health providers sent a letter to Mrs. Herring, which detailed how she was dealing with her loss.

According to the notice, Mrs. Herring was “currently not fit for work.” She should be able to access counselling as soon as possible to ensure she’s able to go back to work in four to six more weeks.

“I cannot predict when full recovery will be made and Mrs. Herring may become psychologically unstable when important dates like birthdays or anniversaries are celebrated.”

The tribunal heard that Lovric requested additional medical information in spite of the warnings he had received.

A tribunal ruled that Mrs. Herring was “threatened” and could face decisions about her employment future if she didn’t provide additional medical information.

According to her, she feels ‘harassed’ for additional information by the tribunal and felt it as if she were being bullied.

Responding to her boss’s request Mrs Herring stated that she was angry and needed to investigate more into something so intimate and personal.

She was dismissed for “continued absence due ill health” in September that same year.

Judge Gardiner declared that Mrs. Herring was not at work due to illness resulting from the way her pregnancy ended.

She was fired because of how long she had been sick and the absence that resulted. However, the company was also reluctant to get any additional information from her doctor or treatment consultant about her illness and the outlook.

“Her hesitation was due to the fact that she considered her medical situation as private given how distressing and emotional it was for her to lose her child.”

Mrs Herring was awarded £19,975 after winning a claim of pregnancy discrimination and another of unfair dismissal.