[picappgallerysingle id="9121043" align="left"] Digital broadcaster BSkyB is currently defending an employment tribunal claim in Croydon in which it is alleged that staff were dismissed as part of a restructuring exercise because they were the only part-time workers of child-bearing age in their department.

Natalie Stone and Victoria Waterson have brought claims alleging sex discrimination, discrimination against part-time workers and unfair dismissal. It is claimed that the employer acted with a view to avoiding the payment of “tens of thousands of pounds” in maternity pay. Ms Stone says that she was forced to leave her job the day before she was due to commence maternity leave.

Ms Stone and Ms Waterson are being represented in the tribunal by their husbands, who both happen to be lawyers. The women maintain that they were told by the editor of skymovies.com that they would lose their jobs before the process had even commenced, a claim which is denied by Sky.