A former partner at DLA Piper's Liverpool office is suing the firm for sexual discrimination after she was sacked while on maternity leave.
Sarah Sweeney was a real estate partner until November 2008. This week she told an employment tribunal in Liverpool that she lost her job because the partners had found out she was pregnant, with her barrister claiming that the firm wanted to avoid being on the hook for her maternity pay. She complained that "the equity partners in the Liverpool office were all male" and that his had led to a macho culture at the office. She also claimed that one partner had told her that he didn't think mothers should work and another had exclaimed "f***ing hell" when told that a colleague was pregnant.
Sweeney also said that another partner slapped her arse at a party at the Tate Liverpool. "I couldn't say whether anyone else saw him slap my bottom" she added. "I suppose I just accepted it as part of the culture of the firm."
However DLA Piper is having none of it. Its barrister said that the firm needed to make cuts as a result of the credit crunch, that Sweeney was the "most dispensable" and that her claims were exaggerated.
A spokeswoman told RollOnFriday that "like any other business, we regret when people leave us because of a change in market conditions but, sadly, in 2008 it was something that we had to face up to as a business, along with many other employers in the legal and professional services sector". She added that the firm strongly contested Sweeney's allegations and would "be calling evidence to rebut all aspects of her claim".
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Sarah Sweeney was a real estate partner until November 2008. This week she told an employment tribunal in Liverpool that she lost her job because the partners had found out she was pregnant, with her barrister claiming that the firm wanted to avoid being on the hook for her maternity pay. She complained that "the equity partners in the Liverpool office were all male" and that his had led to a macho culture at the office. She also claimed that one partner had told her that he didn't think mothers should work and another had exclaimed "f***ing hell" when told that a colleague was pregnant.
Sweeney also said that another partner slapped her arse at a party at the Tate Liverpool. "I couldn't say whether anyone else saw him slap my bottom" she added. "I suppose I just accepted it as part of the culture of the firm."
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Sexual harrassment panda yesterday |
However DLA Piper is having none of it. Its barrister said that the firm needed to make cuts as a result of the credit crunch, that Sweeney was the "most dispensable" and that her claims were exaggerated.
A spokeswoman told RollOnFriday that "like any other business, we regret when people leave us because of a change in market conditions but, sadly, in 2008 it was something that we had to face up to as a business, along with many other employers in the legal and professional services sector". She added that the firm strongly contested Sweeney's allegations and would "be calling evidence to rebut all aspects of her claim".