Hubby’s £15k bill for sacking pregnant wife

Contract terminated over online adult services

A BUSINESS owner who sacked his pregnant wife two days after she found his receipts for X-rated services has been ordered to pay her more than £15,000.

Glasgow-born Stephen Ramsay, 40, fired financial consultant Nicole when she confronted him for spending more than £500 for adult entertainment online.

An employment tribunal heard he responded by dismissing his 33-year-old wife who was pregnant with their fourth child at the time.

Now she has successfully sued him for marriage discrimination.

The tribunal, held in east London, heard Nicole started working for her husband’s lawncare business in

Southend-on-Sea, Essex, as administrative manager and company secretary in August 2015.

In March 2019, Nicole found out she was expecting.

However, in September, when she was 31 weeks pregnant, she questioned her husband over three receipts she had found.

They were for £179.99 each, totalling £539.97, for online adult entertainment services all within a 23-hour period, the tribunal heard.

Following the confrontation, the couple agreed to separate.

The next day, Nicole discovered her husband had taken her house key and sent her text messages and WhatsApp messages “full of abuse”.

Two days after the receipts were found, Nicole’s company fuel card and work phone were stopped by Ramsay.

Ramsay also told her: “You can find a new job to start at the end of your (maternity) leave.”

A week after their separation, Ramsay moved out of the family home. The next day, Nicole’s contract was terminated without her consent.

Ramsay paid her during her maternity leave but reduced her monthly salary from £1500 to £1250.

Deductions of more than £10,000 were made during her maternity leave.

Nicole was awarded £10,568 for unauthorised wage deductions and £5000 compensation for “injury to feelings” in respect of her direct marriage discrimination claim.