A fundraising company accused of sacking an employee who refused an abortion said it will appeal an unfair dismissal ruling on the grounds that it “did not receive the tribunal papers” and was “unaware” of the case.
Enagage Fundraising was ordered to pay former employee Teri Cumlin £12,000 over an “act of discrimination” as a result of her pregnancy.
But Engage said it has now launched its own “investigation” into the ruling.
A statement released on Friday said the agency was unaware of the tribunal as it did not receive the papers due to an office move.
"We moved our offices and our post was redirected for three months and, unfortunately, we missed the chance to respond to the action as we did not receive the tribunal papers,” it said. “The company was completely unaware of the legal proceedings and therefore not able to defend itself at the tribunal.”
The tribunal heard that Cumlin was subjected to a catalogue of abuse and harassment by team manager Mark Robertson who allegedly suggested she have an abortion and asked if she “wished to be the kind of person who had different children by different fathers”.
The agency said it viewed the judgement as “simply a one-sided account of the employee” who “was the only witness”, it said.
'Equality is the heart of the company ethos'
Cumlin was dismissed four months after making sexual discrimination claims against Robertson, but her sacking was unrelated, Engage said.
She was among three employees suspended and later sacked in December over allegations that she fraudulently signed up fellow team members as potential charity donors, Engage said.
A spokesman for Engage said equality was “at the heart of the company's ethos”.
"As a charity fundraiser, we believe it is vitally important that we hold the same strong ethical position that we do for our clients with our staff," he said.
"We did investigate Teri's [sexual discrimination] claims at the time," said the spokesman. "But in light of the tribunal's judgement have ordered another investigation. We want a full review of the case and, if our working practices are not up to scratch, then we will of course move to strengthen them. We will not tolerate sexism in the workplace."
Last week, several charities publicly distanced themselves from the agency following the judgement.
Plan International told Civil Society News on Wednesday it was “reviewing its relationship” with the agency in light of the case. The National Deaf Children’s Society, which Cumlin said she fundraised for, also confirmed that it would no longer work with Engage, while World Vision UK said it was not working with the agency and was trying to get its details removed from the website.
