Mr & Mrs Sting must pay for discrimination

The chef sacked from Sting and Trudie Styler's employment for the sin of being pregnant has been awarded nearly £25,000 in damages. The tribunal commented that Jane Martin had surprised them by seeking a low level of recompense:

In his judgment, the tribunal chairman, James Simpson, stated that the level of compensation for Miss Martin's hurt feelings was set after that amount was requested by her legal representative Michael Norman.

He said the tribunal panel had expected the claim would have been much higher.

Mr Simpson added: "The tribunal was therefore surprised when Mr Norman, for the claimant, suggested the figure of £10,000 and that the claimant was not seeking aggravated damages or costs."

Lake House Estate, the company through which Sting and Trudie had employed Ms Martin until she had been so maddeningly female, have been given leave to appeal against both the judgement and the level of the award.