A Bradford woman hailed a supermum after delivering her daughter's baby has won a claim for race discrimination against a major brewery chain.

Joanne Palmer-Parchment, 37, was passed over for the job of bar supervisor at The Junction in Leeds Road, Bradford, where she had worked for five years.

A three-day hearing at a Leeds employment tribunal heard that the mother of four "worked diligently and obtained various awards and NVQ qualifications, and approached her work seriously".

However, licensees Paul and Cathy Carter did not advertise or hold interviews for the post of bar supervisor.

The hearing was told they awarded the position to a recently-arrived employee, Emma Robinson, who had little bar experience but who had become romantically involved with a member of the Carter family. The appointment was approved by the Allied Domecq regional manager.

Compensation will be set at a future hearing.

"The tribunal found it very surprising that such a substantial organisation (as Allied Domecq) could endorse a promotion of an employee on such a basis," the nine-page ruling states.

Although the parent company has procedures to try to ensure equal opportunities, "they failed woefully to operate at ground level".

Mrs Palmer-Parchment, of Fagley, said: "I'm over the moon. I was disgusted at the way I was treated at The Junction after all the years I'd worked there, and that's the reason I took it this far. I'm a human being and I've got rights.''

The Telegraph & Argus carried the story in November of how Mrs Palmer-Parchment delivered her own granddaughter when her 18-year-old daughter Eletta went into premature labour at home.

The Allied Domecq chain became the Punch Group last October. A Punch Group spokesman said: "Obviously we accept the verdict of the tribunal and will be examining the findings in detail to see what, if any, lessons can be learned for the future."

The spokesman stressed the case related to the period the pub was owned and managed by Allied Domecq. It is now owned and managed by Punch Retail "which operates strict equal opportunities policies".

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