I was dismissed by my manager in the same meeting in which I announced my pregnancy, their reason being 'poor performance'. Upon me contesting the decision ( I had no negative feedback on my performance up to that point, only positive feedback), I was offered a change of role internally, which I accepted. My pregnancy and change of role was announced to the whole group the next day. Another day later, my manager informed me this can no longer be accommodated and that I am dismissed. The reasoning offered was poor performance, stating that their decision to fire me was made prior to my pregnancy announcement. Prior to this I had no performance review ( formal or informal ) that indicated any issues with my performance. Quite the opposite, in a meeting I held with my manager 2 months earlier (at my own request) I was praised for good performance and promised a promotion and salary increase within the next 3 months. The dismissal came to me as a shock and I believe I have been dismissed unfairly and discriminated against due to pregnancy. However due to having less than 2 years service I could not sue the company for unfair dismissal. I got a lawyer and upon receiving legal advice we raised a claim in the employment tribunal for unfair dismissal due to pregnancy discrimination. During the preliminary hearing, my employer presented an email from management to HR, dated a few days prior to my pregnancy announcement and dismissal, requesting they prepare my termination documents. The company's lawyers then asked the judge to give a deposit order against me based on this evidence. Unfortunately I did get a deposit order and my lawyer advised that due to the employer's evidence and the deposit order, my case has very little prospect of success.
Since the preliminary hearing, I continued with the case and followed with disclosure. The employer did not want to disclose any requested written communication mentioning me prior to my dismissal, saying they do not have anything relevant in writing.
Since then I was also informed by one of my ex-colleagues that several employees were gossiping about my suspected pregnancy at at a drinks event, among which was my director (who reports directly to my manager). I therefore have even stronger reason to suspect that management knew/suspected I was pregnant before I announced (and my bump was visible by then too - I was 20 weeks pregnant when I announced). However this ex-colleague does not wish to be a witness or be part of disclosure as she is still employed there and does not want to lose her job.
My lawyer attempted settlement at various points of time during the case but the employer refused vehemently every time. I was going to proceed with a SAR request but my lawyer advised that it's irrelevant at this point, as anything they'd want to hide during disclosure they'd do the same with a SAR. I'm unsure of how to proceed with this case (should I continue to fight and risk to lose in the final hearing or drop it altogether? and if I drop it (which would feel painful anyway) can they pursue me for costs? I feel strongly that I was discriminated against but seem to have no way to prove it...
I have already spent close to £4500 in legal fees... I would appreciate any advice I can get. Thank you.