Discrimination during pregnancy

Case 4: The facts

Clare Fletcher, Shelley Wilkinson and Tracey Parkes were student midwives. Their training consisted of three years' academic study combined with practical training, for which they received a bursary.

When their bursary payments were withdrawn during maternity leave, they brought claims of sex discrimination.

The ruling

Although the students were not "employees" or "workers", the Employment Appeal Tribunal said they could still claim protection under section 14 of the Sex Discrimination Act because they were undergoing vocational training. The failure to pay them during their maternity leave did amount to sex discrimination, it said.

Fletcher & others v NHS Pensions agency & another UKEAT/0424/04