A PREGNANT woman has been awarded more than £3,500 after a tribunal ruled she had been unfairly sacked because she was expecting a baby.

It took the panel less than 30 minutes to unanimously decide Kellie Reilly had been dismissed from her bar job at Rainham's Parkwood Social Club after revealing she was pregnant.

The 22-year-old , who lives at Churchill Avenue, Chatham, with her mother Carol, and boyfriend Michael Milano, represented herself at the tribunal in Ashford in order to save money for her baby.

Miss Reilly, who is due to give birth in three weeks' time, told the tribunal she was sacked from the job she had done for 17 months because she was suffering morning sickness. .

She had been given no clear written or verbal warnings before her dismissal, as required by current employment laws.

But Catherine Sparks, who represented the social club, said the reason for sacking Miss Reilly was because she had a poor attitude to her job and was unreliable, which affected the small team of bar staff who had to cover her shifts.

Bar manager Mrs Russell told the bench she had been left with no alternative but to sack Miss Reilly after she failed to turn up for on 16 separate occasions, often calling an hour before her evening shift started. She also called in to cancel a shift with four hours notice because her mother's car had broken down and she relied on it to get her to work.

She said: "She would call in sick for a variety of reasons. She does not drive and has to rely on her mother to give her a lift to work.

Mrs Russell said the final straw came when Miss Reilly called in sick again.

Mrs Rusell added: "She asked if she was sacked and I told her yes. She asked if it was because she was pregnant and I told her no, it was because she was unreliable. I considered her a good friend and it was not an easy decision to make."

She also said a risk assessment had been carried out which said Miss Reilly would be unable to lift heavy drinks barrels, lift trays of glasses or work by herself.

But Miss Reilly said she had never seen a copy of the risk assessment forms and was unaware telephone conversations about her absences were verbal warnings, which Mrs Russell agreed had not been made clear.

Miss Reilly said: "If there was a problem it should have been conveyed to me. No written warning was given at any time. They just sacked me and at no point was a reason given."

During her pregnancy Miss Reilly has had an operation to remove an abscess from her womb and lost blood, which doctors believe could be related to the stress of losing her job. The tribunal said:

Chairman Mr Q Barry said: "It was unfair because the dismissal went without any written warnings and without any disciplinary hearing. The dismissal was clearly because of her pregnancy."

Speaking after the case Miss Reilly said she was pleased with the result, but sad she had to face her former friends and employers at the tribunal.

She said: "It was never really about the money. It was about proving a point and showing them they can't treat people like that. I had made a lot of friends while working at the club.

"I'm really pleased I did it on my own and Citizens. Advice Bureau in Chatham were so supportive. was able to prove to myself I could represent myself. I wanted to get ready to have my baby, but instead I've been worrying about coming here."

The panel awarded Miss Reilly £3,631.02 compensation to cover loss of earnings and because of the injury to her feelings and sexual discrimination.