A woman working for estate agency Purplebricks was awarded more than £47,000 by a tribunal after she was forced to quit her job after returning from maternity leave19:57, 02 Sep 2026A woman who was forced out her job with the estate agents Purplebricks after suffering with problems during her pregnancy has won over £47,000 in damages.‌Murron Stewart, 27, joined the company in March 2022 as a local agent and was later promoted to an estate agent. The woman was deemed a "strong performer" at the company and was liked by bosses. Ms Stewart's time working at the company however changed after she fell pregnant.‌The woman, from Elgin, Scotland, chose to keep her pregnancy private, having suffered previous miscarriages, but it was announced to colleagues by her line manager. Ms Stewart then started to experience health issues, like morning sickness, relating to the pregnancy and was moved to a virtual team.‌The woman went on maternity leave but during that time a restructuring took place in the company. Her role was changed on her return covering the Moray area, according to the Daily Record.Ms Stewart came back to work full-time in December 2024 after the birth of her son but changed to part-time hours due to childcare, in January 2025. The mum said she found the workload to be increasingly stressful and was then told by bosses that she was not performing to the required standard. The company also told her that working part-time was not meeting the requirements of her role.‌Ms Stewart then resigned from her role at Purplebricks after matters were not resolved during grievance meetings. She took the estate agency to an employment tribunal who ruled she had been constructively and unfairly dismissed. The tribunal deemed Ms Stewart had been discriminated against by Purplebricks on grounds of pregnancy and maternity and/or sex.The company was ordered to pay her £27,626.73. A judge added a further award of £18,647 for injured feelings and £1,050 for a basic award. Ms Stewart, who gave birth to a baby girl last month, had to move back in with her parents due to leaving her role with Purplebricks. She said: "This whole process is deeply distressing for me and my family."Employment judge Amanda Jones said: "The respondent directly discriminated against the claimant because she had been on maternity leave and/or her sex in that she was subjected to criticism on her performance which was unreasonable and required to meet targets which were not adjusted to reflect her part time hours or the level of referrals made to her by the respondent.‌"The reason for this treatment was because of the claimant's caring responsibilities, that no efforts were made to discuss the arrangements for her return to work on a similar basis as she had been working previously and a man in similar circumstances (who had returned from a period of leave) would not have been treated in the same manner."She added: "The Tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that she loved her role and wanted to stay in it." A total award has been set at £47,323.73.A spokesperson for Purplebricks said: "The Judgment relates to proceedings brought against Purplebricks Group plc, a company that was no longer operating the Purplebricks business at the relevant time and which has since been dissolved. The current Purplebricks business was not named as a Respondent to those proceedings and was therefore not a party to the Tribunal process or able to participate in the proceedings.Article continues below"The circumstances surrounding the case are being reviewed and, in view of the legal issues arising, we are unable to comment further at this stage. We are proud that more than half of our employees are parents and remain committed to fostering an inclusive and supportive working environment and to treating all colleagues with dignity and respect. We recognise the importance of supporting employees in balancing their professional and personal responsibilities and continue to promote policies and practices designed to support workplace inclusion."