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LONDON - A British employment tribunal ordered rock star Sting and his wife Trudie Styler to pay $50,000 in compensation on Tuesday for wrongfully dismissing their former chef.
Jane Martin, who cooked for Sting and his family at their country estate in England, filed a claim in July last year saying she had been sacked by Styler after revealing she was pregnant.
The tribunal found the couple guilty of sexual discrimination and awarded Martin 24,944 pounds ($50,000), a tribunal spokeswoman said.
A spokesman for Styler said an appeal had been lodged and that the hearing had displayed bias against Sting's wife.
"It remains Trudie's position that she, as a woman and a mother, has never in her life sexually discriminated against anyone and never would do so," he added.
Martin, 41, was employed by the celebrity couple for nearly eight years, earning around $55,000 a year.
As well as cooking for the family, she often prepared meals for their famous friends and guests, including Madonna and Elton John.
But Martin told the tribunal things started to go wrong after she told Styler she was pregnant in 2005. She said Styler frequently made excessive demands and at one point became angry because she took time off.
Styler, Martin said, had been overheard to say: "She's my chef in the UK. She needs to be available if I need her, or she should rethink her position."
Martin, who was employed by the couple's management company, Lake House Estate, said she also stopped receiving expensive presents on her birthday, getting flowers for her 40th whereas previously she had been given watches and jewelry.
- REUTERS
