Pregnant nurse brings unfair dismissal claim after brother, a GP partner, told her to 'stop logging in'

A practice nurse who says she was dismissed without clear notice while pregnant has been allowed to continue an employment tribunal claim against her brother, a GP partner, and the practice they ran in Glasgow.

At a preliminary hearing in Glasgow, Employment Judge Mark Whitcombe found that the language used by Dr Mohammed Moughal when he told his sister, Anika Moughal, to "stop logging in" was "objectively ambiguous" and could equally have been understood as temporary amid a partnership dispute, rather than a clear communication of dismissal. The judge ruled the tribunal has jurisdiction to hear her claims, which include unfair dismissal.

The tribunal heard that Miss Moughal was employed by Greenlaw Medical Practice as a practice nurse from September 2020. She had previously worked at the practice as a receptionist in 2013 and as a health care support worker between 2014 and 2018 while training to be a nurse. After a break in summer 2020 to get married, she returned to work largely remotely, managing patients with chronic diseases and attending in person for occasional Covid-19 vaccination and smear clinics.

Miss Moughal fell pregnant in 2023 and the tribunal heard she experienced a "complicated" pregnancy. Practice manager Sandra Grant reduced the frequency of in-person clinics for her because of the pregnancy. The partners at Greenlaw then decided that Miss Moughal should be "off payroll from 1 May 2024," but the tribunal focussed on what was actually communicated to her.

Judge Whitcombe said the relevant conversation between the siblings took place at the end of April 2024. He recorded that Dr Moughal "wished to soften the blow not least because he knew that his sister was pregnant, and I find that he used ambiguous language." The judge added: "He accepted in cross-examination that he might not have communicated what he intended to Miss Moughal, i.e. that the employment relationship was coming to an end." The GP told the tribunal he had asked his sister to "stop working and to stop logging in" but did not use words such as "terminated," "dismissed," or "fired."

There was no contemporaneous letter or email confirming termination and Miss Moughal did not know at the time that salary payments would be permanently stopped after April 2024, the tribunal heard. The judge said there was "nothing about the context which made it sufficiently clear that the instruction not to log on or work was permanent." He found that the words used were "equally consistent with a temporary crisis during a partnership dispute, a dispute which might be resolved."

Miss Moughal received a P45 by August 2024, by which point she believed she had been dismissed. The tribunal's preliminary decision determined that she was an employee and that a dismissal had occurred; the full merits of her claims will be considered at a later hearing.

Greenlaw Medical Practice has since been dissolved following an internal dispute between partners. The preliminary judgment noted that NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde Health Board is potentially liable for any successful claims arising from Miss Moughal's dismissal.

The case now proceeds to a full employment tribunal where the reasons for the partners' decision to take Miss Moughal off payroll and the manner of the communication will be examined in detail. The tribunal will also consider any statutory protections relating to pregnancy and maternity that may apply to the claimant.