Sting ordered to pay $51,000 to ex-chef

British pop star Sting poses with his wife Trudie Styler after the screening
of the film 'A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints' at the 63rd edition
of the Venice film festival in Venice, Italy in this Sunday, Sept. 3, 2006 file photo.[AP]

LONDON - An employment tribunal ordered Sting and his wife, Trudie Styler, on Tuesday to pay a former chef $51,000 in compensation after she won a sexual-discrimination claim against them.

Jane Martin, 41, won her claim in May. She said she was fired after she became pregnant.

At a hearing earlier this year, Martin said she had worked for the 55-year-old pop star and his wife for eight years, cooking meals for them and guests including Madonna and Elton John.

She said Styler grew unhappy with her after she became pregnant in 2005, making her work long hours and growing angry when she took time off work because of illness.

Martin, who accused Styler of having a "grandiose ego," left her job under disputed circumstances in April 2006.

The panel at an employment tribunal in Southampton, southern England, said in its May ruling that Martin had been unlawfully dismissed by Lake House Estate, Sting and Styler's management company, and was a victim of sexual discrimination.

Sting and Styler said they had already launched an appeal.