An RAF officer from Oxford who was discriminated against when she was pregnant was awarded more than £16,000 by an Employment Tribunal, the Equality and Human Rights Commission said today.

In a case funded by the commission, the officer claimed she was removed from her job and had her promotion prospects delayed because she was pregnant.

She was on a posting in the Falkland Islands when she told her superiors she was 12 weeks pregnant.

The tribunal, in Reading, heard her request to stay on in her desk-based job was denied despite her husband, also an RAF officer, being based on the islands. She was ordered to return to the UK immediately.

Law firm Leigh Day & Co, who represented the officer, said that as she wanted to be with her husband during her pregnancy she was forced to take leave to return to the Falklands.

This meant she missed out on a performance review, delaying her promotion prospects.

The Equality & Human Rights Commission said the way the officer had been treated "had the effect of creating an intimidating, degrading, hostile or offensive environment for her", though this was not intentional on their part, the commission said.

The tribunal recommended that the Ministry of Defence should carry out individual risk assessments for each pregnant woman and consider adjusting their roles to enable her to remain in their posts.

It also suggested the MoD establish a monitoring process in respect of any removal of a pregnant woman from her post, and undertake a performance appraisal for each pregnant woman starting maternity leave.

John Wadham, legal director at the EHRC, said: "The commission's research has shown that pregnant women are the most discriminated group of people in the workforce, with 30,000 losing their jobs each year as a result of their pregnancy.

"Larger employers such as the Ministry of Defence should be leading the way in showing other organisations how to treat their pregnant workers.

"This judgment should serve as a reminder of what is expected of employers in these situations."