Southsea mum who won David versus Goliath tribunal case against Liz Earle Beauty Co now helps other pregnant women - and admits 'no good will' to former employer

But Helen Larkin admits she has ‘no goodwill’ to Liz Earle Beauty Co after still failing to receive an apology after winning her maternity discrimination and unfair dismissal claim at Southampton Tribunal Court in January.

The Southsea mum-of-two was put through a ‘nightmare 18 months’ by the Isle of Wight firm, which made her redundant just a month before she was due to give birth in June 2019.

But despite representing herself during the emotional tribunal, Helen won – leaving the company having to fork out £17,000.

The 39-year-old, who lost her digital channel marketing role, waived the opportunity to accept nearly twice what she was awarded by the tribunal after Liz Earle Beauty made a last-ditch offer to pay her off.

But Helen refused to be silenced – and is now helping other women who are suffering similar experiences by working as a volunteer mentor for charity Pregnant Then Screwed, as well as having spoken at a conference to pregnant mums.

‘I spoke to a mentor from the charity before my tribunal which helped me and now I do the same to help others,’ she said. ‘I’m making something positive from something bad.

‘It’s good to be able to help people – that was a big thing for me in not accepting their offer. If I’d accepted it then I wouldn’t have been allowed to speak about my case.

‘(Maternity discrimination) happens to so many people and is now happening four-fold since Covid happened.

‘Most women take an offer and accept a non-disclosure order where you are not allowed to talk about the case. I probably would have done the same if they had made me the offer before the tribunal but by that point it was too late.

‘It is unusual for people to speak out. But other women have found it inspiring and heartening when they are going through similar situations and are worried about pursuing firms.

‘They feel they have the support to do it on their own and stand up for themselves. It is still very rare to represent yourself and win.’

Reflecting on her feelings towards Liz Earle Beauty, owned by American pharmaceutical giant Walgreens Boots Alliance, which owns Boots, Helen said: ‘I’m glad I won and have been able to speak out and help others. I’ve not bought any of their products since!

‘I have no goodwill towards them. They never apologised. They said they had done nothing wrong even after the tribunal – but they were found guilty.

‘I’ve heard of other women in the company say maternity rights have improved since and that’s because of the tribunal so that’s good if true.

‘I felt I got what I needed out of the tribunal, although it was daunting to begin with. I feel I am more confident in life now.’

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