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The saintly image of rock star Sting and his wife Trudie Styler was left badly tarnished yesterday after an employment tribunal found they had sexually discriminated against their pregnant cook.
In a damning judgement following a unanimous verdict, the tribunal described Ms Styler's treatment of Jane Martin as "shameful".
Miss Martin was sacked after falling pregnant following eight years of previously unblemished service to the couple who have become high-profile champions of human rights and ecological causes around the world.
The 41-year-old cook was unlawfully dismissed from her 28,000-pounds-a-year ($76,071) position by the couple's management company, Lake House Estate, the Southampton tribunal found.
In passing judgement, the panel singled out the former Poldark actress, referred to under her married name of Sumner, for extraordinary personal criticism.
It accused her of manipulating staff to carry out her "dirty work" and then of failing to take responsibility for her actions.
It said: "Although Mrs Sumner tried to distance herself from various unlawful acts and have them carried out by minions on her behalf, when the evidence is looked at holistically, her involvement is clear.
She is without doubt the driving force manipulating others to perform her dirty work." It concluded: "The position is aggravated by her lack of courage either to face the claimant direct and inform her she was no longer required or attend the tribunal to give evidence."The Sumners said they would appeal against the ruling but now face the unwelcome prospect of being forced to pay out record damages next month.
Sexual discrimination case awards carry no upper limit.
During the hearing last March, Miss Martin claimed that despite being pregnant she was required to work 14-hour days.
On one occasion, when she in her final trimester, she was ordered to travel from the couple's 800-acre estate near Salisbury to their London home overlooking St James' Park just to make soup and salad for Ms Styler, she said.
Another time she made the same arduous journey to prepare a bowl of pasta for their children's supper.
Serious trouble flared when Miss Martin was required to take time off work with a stomach bug.
Shortly after this, Miss Styler was alleged to have said: "Who the f*** does she think she is? She's my chef in the UK.
She needs to be available if I need her, or she should rethink her position."Before her pregnancy Miss Martin had received a stream of generous birthday gifts from the couple including a Hermes watch, Tiffany jewellery and a ruby and sapphire necklace.
But the relationship with her employers deteriorated and on her 40th birthday she was given a small bunch of tulips.
In a statement issued by Ms Styler's solicitors yesterday, the mother-of-four said it was "risible to anyone that knows me" to believe she had discriminated against a pregnant woman.
"I am devastated that the tribunal's judgement makes this unjust and unfair attack on Sting and me.
It does not, we believe, reflect the facts which were put before the hearing and we will be appealing.
"Jane Martin was always treated well and generously as an employee and we remain stunned at her actions and at the verdict of the tribunal."During the course of the hearing it was claimed that Ms Styler had a "grandiose ego" and demanded to be treated in a "royal manner beyond her station as an actress".
However, Ms Styler said far from living in fear of her, the couple's staff was loyal and happy.
"Their collective loyalty and long service suggests that the picture of our household which Jane chose to paint, and which the tribunal appears to have accepted, is a travesty," she said.
The couple met in 1982 when Sting was still relatively little known as the front man of The Police as well as being still married to his first wife.
By the time they tied the knot 10 years later he had become an international solo star.
She wore a 20,000-pounds ($54,313) Versace dress and left the ceremony on a white horse.
The couple have homes all over the world and boast a host of celebrity pals, including Madonna and Guy Ritchie, who were introduced by Ms Styler.
They have made headlines as much for their love for Tantric sex and yoga as they have for their support of liberal causes such as human rights in China and saving the Amazon rainforest.
- INDEPENDENT
