The recent Employment Tribunal decision in Ms A Hope v Ola Electric UK Private Limited provides a useful reminder to employers that “banter” about pregnancy can cross the line into unlawful harassment.
The claimant brought multiple claims against her former employer, including:
- Unfair dismissal
- Direct sex discrimination
- Pregnancy and maternity discrimination
- Harassment related to sex
- Pregnancy and maternity detriment
- Unlawful deductions from wages
While the majority of her claims were dismissed, her claim for harassment related to sex succeeded.
Under the Equality Act 2010, harassment occurs where conduct is unwanted, is related to sex (or another protected characteristic), and has the purpose or effect of violating dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment. The Tribunal found that the comments made to the Claimant met this threshold.
Importantly, harassment does not require malicious intent. The focus is instead on:
- The effect on the individual
- Whether it was reasonable for the conduct to have that effect
The Background
In February 2023, Ms Hope announced her pregnancy to colleagues.
In March 2023, she told the Chief Programme Designer that she was concerned her baby bump was not growing. He responded: “Never mind the bump, the boob fairy hasn’t been either.”
In July 2023, the Studio Engineering Lead sent the following message to a workplace group chat:
“Women say that giving birth is way more painful than a bloke getting kicked in the bollocks. Here is proof that they are wrong. A year or so after giving birth a woman will often say ‘It’d be nice to have another baby’. You never hear a bloke say ‘I wouldn’t mind another kick in the bollocks’. Case closed.”
A further message was then sent, directing the joke specifically at the Claimant.
Although the Claimant generally had a good working relationship with colleagues, she was experiencing anxiety regarding her pregnancy and the development of her baby at the time. In that context, the comments were not received as light-hearted humour.
The Redundancy Decision
In January 2024, the Claimant was dismissed by reason of redundancy, as the project on which she was working was no longer continuing.
The Tribunal accepted that this was a genuine redundancy situation and dismissed the unfair dismissal and pregnancy discrimination claims.
Key Takeaways
- “Banter” Is Not a Defence – Workplace humour, particularly of a sexual or gendered nature, carries legal risk. Even comments intended as jokes can amount to unlawful harassment.
- Impact Matters More Than Intention – The statutory test focuses on effect, not simply purpose. A comment can be unlawful even if it was not intended to cause offence.
- Group Chats Are High-Risk Environments – Informal communication platforms (for example, WhatsApp or internal messaging channels) are frequently relied upon in Tribunal proceedings.
Practical Steps for Employers
To mitigate risk, employers should:
- Implement regular anti-harassment and equality training
- Address “banter culture” directly in training sessions
- Make clear that messaging platforms are workplace environments
- Train managers on appropriate responses to pregnancy-related disclosures
- Encourage early reporting and deal with concerns promptly
If you would like assistance reviewing your harassment policies, training materials, or managing a pregnancy-related workplace issue, please contact our Employment team.