A British real estate agent earned nearly 185,000 pounds ($254,000) in compensation from her former employer after the company rejected her request for flexible working hours, prompting her to quit.
A judge at the UK Employment Court ruled on Monday upholding Alice Thompson’s lawsuit against property agent Manors in London, CNBC reported.
Alice was looking forward to returning to work after maternity leave when she asked if she could finish work an hour early at 5 p.m. and work four days a week, instead of five, to take care of her child.
Alice resigned in December 2019 after her boss rejected the request, according to the Labor Court on August 24. The employee struggled to find work after the UK went into a coronavirus lockdown in March 2020, due to its impact on the property market.
The Labor Court ordered Manors to pay Alice £184,900 as compensation for indirect sex discrimination.
The court said the amount included interest, past and future loss of income and pension contributions, plus £13,500 for ‘injury to the emotions’, with an additional amount to cover any income tax on the payments.
Alice told the BBC on Tuesday that it had been a “long and exhausting journey”, but she was pleased to have it closed and satisfied with the amount of compensation awarded given that the process had been “exhausting” emotionally and financially.
She added: “I have put my heart and soul into the property agency profession for over a decade in London, which is no small feat because it is a completely male-dominated environment. I thought how can mothers have jobs and families? It’s 2021, not 1971.”