A restaurant worker told by a co-worker 'any woman who doesn't have kids is not a real woman' has been awarded nearly £9,000.

Jewel Minchella, 37, was asked by Chuck Burger colleague Zine El Abbedine, known as Zino, how many children she wanted to have, to which she said none.

But he told her 'all guys want kids' and that if Jewel ever found love, a man would sleep with her until they got bored before leaving her for someone younger.

Ms Minchella said she complained to the general manager and asked for her grievance to be handled immediately and professionally.

Jewel Minchella, 37, was asked by Chuck Burger colleague Zine El Abbedine, known as Zino, how many kids she wanted to have, to which she said none. Pictured: Chuck Burger's Commercial Street branch, believed to be where Ms Minchella worked

But she said Zino had laughed and smiled and tried to hug her by way of apology.

She chased up her bosses six times regarding her complaint but they never replied and instead made her redundant a month later.

Unlike her colleagues she got a letter telling her she was redundant just 48 hours after being warned she was at risk of losing her job.

Ms Minchella, took Chuck Burger's parent company HotBox to tribunal for age and sex discrimination.

She said she was 'very upset' by the comments, having had a fibroid surgery the previous year.

Employment judge Sally Gilbert said: 'It is important for the Employment Tribunal to make awards which recognise the seriousness of discriminatory actions towards employees and that society has condemned discrimination.

'It was important for me to recognise the hurt caused by the Respondent's actions.'

Summarising the case, she added: 'The Claimant said that, on 18 June 2017, a colleague, Zine EL Abbedine "Zino," had asked the Claimant, "How many kids do you want to have?" and, when the Claimant replied, "None," Zino also said, "Any women who doesn't have kids is not a real woman".

'He also said, "All guys want kids," and he said that, if the Claimant ever found true love, that the man would sleep with the Claimant until he got bored and eventually leave the Claimant for someone younger and go and make babies with them.

'The Claimant is 37.

'The Claimant said that she complained to the general manager and asked for her grievance to be handled immediately and professionally.'

She added: 'The Claimant told the Tribunal that, when Zino made his comments to her, she was very upset; particularly so, because she is 37 years old and had a fibroid surgery a year before the comments were made, meaning that the comments were particularly hurtful to her.

'She told me that, while she had been made redundant, the Respondent company continued to operate and that, when she had called at the Respondent company, she noticed that other employees continued to be employed.

'She noticed that a male, Andreas, was still being employed at the company.'

Ms Minchella was also awarded £183.60 for unlawful deductions from wages. Including interest, the total award was £8,993.81. Pictured: East London Tribunal Hearing Centre

Judge Gilbert awarded her £8,000 for injury to feelings, as well as lost earnings due to the discrimination of £581, at Stratford Employment Tribunal on December 15.

Ms Minchella said that Chuck Burger had responded in a 'terse manner' to her queries about redundancy and she said that she was discriminated against in the redundancy process.

Judge Gilbert said: 'I considered that the Claimant ought to be compensated for injury to feelings arising from the comments Zino made, the failure of the Respondent to address her complaint promptly or adequately and her dismissal, which was handled differently and less favourably to the way in which other people's redundancies were handled.

'It was clear that the Respondent had retained other male employees when the Claimant was dismissed. These were all instances of direct discrimination.

'I concluded that she had been very offended by the words of her colleague and that she considered that the Respondent had not acted promptly or sympathetically in relation to them.

'I accepted Ms Minchella's evidence that she felt offended by being dismissed, when other people were not, and in the way that her redundancy was handled.'

She was also awarded £183.60 for unlawful deductions from wages. Including interest, the total award was £8,993.81.

HotBox went into liquidation last year.