An industrial tribunal in Belfast has ruled that B/E Aerospace (UK) Limited unlawfully discriminated against a worker on grounds of pregnancy, ordering the company to pay £4,000 in compensation. The judgment, issued on 6 August 2026, found that the claimant's pregnancy was an effective cause of the termination of her work assignment at the company's Northern Ireland facility.

Maire Horan-Maybaum began employment with staffing agency Adecco UK Ltd on 7 February 2024 and was assigned to work as a production line operative at B/E Aerospace from 15 July 2024. She informed Adecco of her pregnancy on 11 October 2024, giving a due date of 19 April. Line managers at B/E Aerospace were also made aware of the pregnancy around 14 October 2024, and discussions about a risk assessment were initiated but not progressed at that time.

The tribunal found that a return-to-work meeting held on 29 October 2024 by B/E Aerospace Manufacturing Leader Stephen McDowell was conducted in a cursory manner, with the completed form containing no reference to the claimant's pregnancy despite McDowell's own assertion that she informed him of it at the conclusion of that meeting. The tribunal drew an adverse inference from McDowell's failure to update the form or otherwise record that notification, and found his evidence on several points to be unconvincing.

The claimant's assignment was terminated on 12 November 2024 following the identification of two timesheet inaccuracies - entries recording full working days on 22 October and 1 November 2024, both dates on which she had been absent due to illness. McDowell characterised her response to questioning about the errors as a "red flag" suggesting deliberate falsification. The tribunal noted, however, that Adecco's own representative had viewed the matter as requiring only a reminder to the claimant about correct timesheet procedure, and had not categorised it as a serious disciplinary matter.

The tribunal found that the 12 November meeting, described in its own written record as an "End of Assignment Meeting" from the outset, amounted to a foregone conclusion. No advance notice of the meeting's purpose was given to the claimant, who was recorded as appearing confused throughout. The tribunal concluded that McDowell seized upon the timesheet errors as a pretext, and that the pregnancy formed part of the critical thinking behind the instruction to Adecco to terminate the assignment.

On remedy, the tribunal confined the award to injury to feelings, assessing it at the lower Vento band. It found no compensatable loss of statutory maternity pay, as the claimant was eligible for Statutory Maternity Allowance but did not apply for it. The tribunal also found that the claimant had not taken adequate steps to mitigate her financial loss, having declined alternative assignments offered by Adecco and securing only limited subsequent employment - a 25-week period at McVeigh's Mini-Market between September 2025 and February 2026. The £4,000 award covers injury to feelings only, with interest to be applied under the relevant Northern Ireland regulations.

The case was heard over three days on 13, 14 and 15 May 2026 in Belfast before Employment Judge Leonard, sitting with members Mr A Huston and Mrs T Cregan. The claimant was represented by Richard Campbell, Barrister-at-Law, instructed by Fisher and Fisher Solicitors. B/E Aerospace was represented by Emma McIlveen, Barrister-at-Law, instructed by Millar McCall Wylie Solicitors as agents for Fieldfisher LLP. A separate claim against Adecco was discontinued prior to the hearing, and the tribunal noted that some form of settlement had been reached between the claimant and Adecco.