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An employer accused of engaging in a "protracted campaign" to dismiss a pregnant employee has successfully defended her general protections claim.

The employer sacked her because she refused lawful and reasonable directions to attend meetings about its performance concerns, and not because of her pregnancy or caring responsibilities, Federal Court Justice Michael Feutrill found.

The Court heard that a manager of mobile lighting and power solutions company Allight raised issues with the contracts officer's performance in January 2023.

He told the general manager of people, culture and safety (people GM) that he was struggling to balance his workload when he didn't know if or when the employee was working; further, she was missing tasks. He asked: "Do I have options to redirect or replace?"...