A woman who was dismissed after informing her employer she was pregnant was this morning awarded €12,000 by an industrial tribunal.

Tracy Camilleri told the tribunal she was unjustly fired from John's Garage Ltd and Travel Smart Ltd in January last year, only two months after informing her employers she was pregnant.

She used to work in the companies' accounts department and was in charge of sending out invoices.

Ms Camilleri said that a week after she informed her employer of her situation, she was informed she was going to be made redundant.

When at the end of January she requested a day off, she was told it was her last day at work. When she asked about a notice period, she was told she had been on notice since December.

The companies claimed that Ms Camilleri was dismissed because she had been inefficient in her work and showed a lack of professionalism, so much so that a company had to be subcontracted to do her work.

Ms Camilleri, her employer claimed, had to send out invoices on time to ensure that payments were made.

Sending out invoices late could result in the companies not being paid either because of the recipient going bankrupt or because of a breach in contractual agreements.

Tribunal chairman Franco Masini said that the law did not give a company the right to dismiss an employee during pregnancy.

The fact that Ms Camilleri was informed of her release only a few days after telling her employer of her situation created doubts.

The tribunal, Mr Masini said, was not morally convinced there had been a genuine case of redundancy and could not see how the alleged breaches could lead to redundancy.