A young mum, unlawfully sacked by her employer because she became pregnant, has revealed that she has still not received a penny of the £22,000 compensation awarded to her by a tribunal.

Nicola Woollard, who is now expecting her second child, was dismissed by Keighley debt agency Carefree Debt Solutions.

But despite winning her case at an employment tribunal in Leeds, she has been unable to pursue her claim for compensation against the company and its boss by John Gill.

Carefree Debt Solutions, which had an office in High Street, Keighley, was put into liquidation last year, only weeks after she was awarded the compensation on May 14. The London Gazette reports the company was finally wound up in September last year.

The tribunal had found Miss Woollard, 21, of Ashburn Place, Ilkley, was unfairly dismissed and ordered a total payment of £22,255.89.

Its ruling shows that the panel found the company did not give Miss Woollard reasonable reasons for dismissal or full notice of termination. And her claim of pregnancy discrimination was upheld against Mr Gill and Carefree Debt Solutions.

Neither Mr Gill, nor anyone else from the company, appeared at the hearing and it went ahead in his absence. The Individual Insolvency Register now records John Martin Gill as a bankrupt, the order being discharged in July 2009.

Miss Woollard, whose baby Jamie is now almost a year old, said: “We’re not finished yet. We’re now hoping to take it to the High Court.”

Miss Woollard has got help from Keighley MP Ann Cryer who has written to Bridget Prentice MP at the Ministry of Justice.

Mrs Cryer urges her to include a mechanism for enforcement on employers to be included in the new Courts and Tribunals Bill.

She said: “The way forward seems for the state to pay the award to the claimant in these cases and then pursue the employer.

“The money could be charged on the employer’s property and then taken at a future sale.”

Miss Woollard’s partner, Bryan Papworth, 39, said: “The system has worked against us. It seems wrong. But we’re definitely not letting this drop.”

Liz Reveley, of Bradford Citizens Advice Bureau, said non-payment of employment tribunal awards was an issue her organisation had been campaigning on for nearly ten years.

From this April, High Court enforcement officers can conduct enforcement on behalf of tribunal claimants as part of a toughening up process by the Government. The costs will be added to the respondent’s bill.

Miss Reveley said: “In the meantime I would advise her to get further legal advice to see if there is anything she can do to recover the money owed to her,” she said.

The Telegraph & Argus tried to contact Mr Gill on a number of occasions for comment. He was unavailable by telephone at the UK Debt Helpline in Bridgehouse Lane, Haworth, where we understood he could be located. Calling at the office our reporter was told John Gill had not been there since November.

We attempted to locate Mr Gill’s home at Duckfield Farm, Oldfield, Keighley, without success. The Individual Insolvency Register also has John Martin Gill’s address as 46 Milnthorpe Road, Kendal, Cumbria.