City bank's lapdance nights

A banker sacked while on maternity leave has told how her colleagues entertained clients in lapdancing clubs as part of a laddish world in the office.

Beth Baird, 32, is suing international bank Dresdner Kleinwort Wassertein for £500,000, claiming she was sacked because management knew she wanted a large family.

She told an employment tribunal she was targeted in a male-dominated workplace which was unsympathetic to pregnant women and feared she would take time off to have more children.

Mrs Baird, of Bishop's Stortford, Hertfordshire, alleges that senior managers would entertain clients at lapdancing clubs and her team would joke about one colleague who was in a relationship with a lapdancer.

She accused the head of her division, Robert Lister, of being unsympathetic to pregnant women, saying he believed they should stay at home and "take piano lessons instead". In her witness statementthe mother of a baby son said: "All through my time at Dresdner it was no secret that my husband was keen to have a large family. You get the usual ribbing about how many children you are going to have."

Referring to her sacking in January last year, she said: "The reason given could not possibly be the real reason (which on reflection I believe to be motivated by my maternity plans). I believe that certain persons within the company have contrived to prevent me from returning to work." Referring to the lapdancing she said: "I know such entertainment was being provided by the respondents. One of my team members had developed a relationship with one of the dancers and it was the source of much joking on the desk."

Mrs Baird was sacked for gross misconduct after allegedly disclosing inside information to her husband in an email. She claims her line manager had authorised her to use her husband, a broker for small company Oriel Securities, as a sounding board.

Dresdner Kleinwort Wassertein denies discrimination. The hearing continues.