Scientist claims clinic fired her after miscarriages

A scientist who lost her job at a London fertility clinic shortly after suffering a fourth miscarriage has reportedly won her case against her former employers.

Embryologist Saghar Kasiri claims managers at Lord Winston's internationally-acclaimed unit at Imperial College made her redundant four days after she lost her baby.

She claims they treated her without compassion and regarded her absences from work as an inconvenience.

Ms Kasiri took her case to an employment tribunal, claiming sex discrimination and unfair dismissal. At least part of her claim against the college has been successful, it is reported today, although a full ruling is yet to be delivered.

Her solicitor Teresa Harrison said allegations that she had been unfairly treated had been upheld.

"She has been successful and we are delighted although that has to be tempered until we know exactly how much the tribunal has accepted her evidence and on which points she has won," she told The Times Higher Education Supplement.

Lord Winston, a professor of fertility studies and broadcaster, appointed Ms Kasiri to work at the college's IVF unit at Hammersmith Hospital in 1998, the tribunal was told. However, she had four miscarriages in 19 months.

This, she claimed, led to her being made redundant from her £31,000 a year job. She singled out line managers Karin Dawson and Suzie Duffy for allegedly treating her "without compassion" and seeing her periods of absence as "an inconvenience".

Dr Dawson lost patience with her when she took sick leave after the fourth miscarriage, she added.

Recalling the moment she was told of her dismissal, she told the tribunal: "I couldn't believe that two managers working for an IVF unit, whose objective is to assist women like me to get pregnant, could be so unsympathetic."

According to reports in The Times, she claimed senior embryologists at the clinic would arrive at work evidently under the influence of alcohol and on one occasion a colleague was so drunk he was sent home.

However, in her case, "any trivial little thing" was taken into account and counted against her, the tribunal heard. She alleged embryos would sometimes be lost by staff and admitted she had once lost one, too. The clinic's practices and new techniques were to blame, she declared.

Ms Kasiri denied allegations she had failed to put enough effort into getting an embryo biopsy licence, insisting her pregnancies had prevented her from acquiring sufficient experience.

She was made redundant in May last year after a drop in the number of private patients visiting the clinic. She claimed she had been unable to find another job but has since given birth to a son.

Ms Kasiri and Imperial College are refusing to comment on the result of her case. Lord Winston said he had not heard about the development.