A senior property manager who sued her bosses for discrimination after they failed to congratulate her on her one-year anniversary at the firm on WhatsApp has been pictured for the first time.
Portuguese-born Rita Nunn first joined HES estate management on August 11, 2022 as a senior property manager – a firm that offers professional property services to around 300 blocks in London, Surrey and surrounding counties.
And in July 2023, she informed her employers she was pregnant after undergoing IVF treatment.
But when her first-year anniversary rolled around and she did not receive a ‘congratulations’ in a company WhatsApp chat, she complained she was being treated unfavourably by bosses.
Following this, she took her employers to tribunal where she attempted to sue them for age and pregnancy discrimination after feeling ‘overlooked’ because she never received the message.
However, a month before, in July 2023, another member of staff had received a ‘congratulatory’ message marking her one-year anniversary, the tribunal in South London was told
But after the message, the staff member who was celebrating ‘complained about the large volume of messages being sent on the group’, sparking a change in policy at the firm.
‘As a result the directors decided no longer to mark work anniversaries and to restrict celebratory messages to birthdays,’ the judgement read.
Rita Nunn took her employers HES estate management to tribunal for pregnancy and age discrimination after ‘overlooked’ when she never received a one-year congratulatory message
Her claims of pregnancy and age discrimination have since been dismissed by employment judge Nicholas Cox
The occasional anniversary message was sent afterwards, but often only as ‘exceptions’ such as an employee who was celebrating two-decades of service, it was heard.
And a colleague of Ms Nunn’s whose work anniversary was also th same months as hers also received no message, due to the change in policy regarding the group chat.
In September 2023, a message celebrating an employee’s three year anniversary had been ‘sent in error’.
Ms Nunn eventually resigned from her role as a senior property manager after taking 10 months of maternity leave in September 2024.
Employment judge, Nicholas Cox, dismissed her claims, adding that Ms Nunn was not treated unfavourably and such messages were ‘not an entitlement’.
He also ruled that not receiving congratulatory emails is not an example of pregnancy discrimination.
‘The failure to send [Ms Nunn] a work anniversary congratulatory message was not unfavourable treatment,’ the judge said. ‘First, the sending of such messages was not an entitlement.
‘It was an additional, non-financial benefit, or to put it another way, more favourable treatment, which had been historically practiced.
‘A failure to treat an employee less favourably than they might have been treated does not in itself constitute unfavourable treatment.
‘Second, and critically, I have found that the practice had been, or was at least intended to have been, ended for all employees before [Ms Nunn’s] work anniversary came round (with a few limited exceptions for, for example, exceptional long service).
‘[Ms Nunn] was not therefore treated unfavourably because the practice was ended.
‘Other employees would also not by the relevant date have been congratulated on first work anniversaries.
‘Accordingly, the claim for pregnancy-related harassment is not well founded and is dismissed.’
Other claims made by Ms Nunn were also dismissed.
