A bride-to-be who told her boss she wanted to get a job with better prospects has won £800 compensation at an employment tribunal.

Kirsty Gower successfully claimed she was unfairly dismissed from her job at the saddlery shop at Brendon Horse and Rider Centre in London Road, Pyecombe.

Mrs Gower, of Walnut Park, Haywards Heath, told her boss last December she was planning to leave because she was getting married and wanted a job with better prospects.

She was surprised in March when she found she was being replaced by a new member of staff and was expected to leave her job in two weeks.

Mrs Gower, who married in September, denied resigning and said she had only had an informal discussion with her boss over her future.

She had never given a leaving date and had intended to find a new job before handing in her notice.

She said: "It was unfair and illegal. I was totally taken aback. I had no other job to go to."

Mrs Gower told the Brighton hearing she had decided to change her job because she needed to earn more money and have a pension.

She said: "I had to grow up and face life and think about prospects.

"I needed to have a career rather than a job I enjoyed."

Valerie Light, who runs the family-owned business with her husband and two daughters, denied treating Mrs Gower unfairly.

She said Mrs Gower had made it clear to herself and customers she was looking for a another position and, as far as Mrs Light was concerned, had given notice in December.

She told the hearing part of her business was breeding competition horses and she had 100 horses to care for. She had needed to find a replacement before the show and stud seasons started in the spring.

A notice advertising the job had been placed in the saddlery for some time.

Mrs Light said: "Mrs Gower made it plain to me she had to get a better job. I knew she was leaving - she knew she was leaving. We had to put a date on it."

The tribunal heard Mrs Gower, who now works at an optician's, had never received a contract or pay slips.

Mrs Light said she and her family intended to change their informal work practices in the future.

She said: "We have learnt from this. We have to do things more formally. We are a family-run business and we try to do things by discussion. We will change things."