Workplace Harassment Can Be Downright Cruel – You Don’t Have to Take It

Harassment in the workplace can descend into downright cruelty and employers who fail to stamp out such behaviour can expect to pay a heavy reputational and financial price. In a case on point, a sandwich shop worker who endured her line manager’s wounding comments received substantial…

Aug 30, 2022

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The woman, who was in her probationary period at the shop, was being treated for a number of medical conditions, which amounted to a disability. Her numerous allergies required her to carry an EpiPen. Prior to her dismissal, she had expressed concern about a number of alleged health and safety breaches at the shop, including what she considered an inadequate response to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ruling on her case, an Employment Tribunal (ET) found that her line manager made disparaging comments concerning her appearance and medical conditions. Amongst other things, he laughed whilst waving food to which she was allergic under her nose and made jokes about her committed veganism. Given the number of medical tests and examinations she was undergoing, he referred to her as a ‘science experiment’.

The ET found that the reason or principal reason for her dismissal was that she had made protected disclosures concerning health and safety issues and her entitlement to rest breaks. The line manager’s comments amounted to harassment in that they created an intimidating, hostile, humiliating and offensive working environment for her. They related to her protected characteristics, including her disability and her belief in veganism which was an important part of her life and how she lived it.

The ET awarded her £2,092 in respect of her unfair dismissal and £10,000 for injury to her feelings arising from the harassment. Further awards were made in respect of an unauthorised deduction from her wages and her employer’s refusal to permit her to exercise her right to an uninterrupted rest break.

Nurse Receives £41,000 Compensation for Constructive Dismissal

A nurse who was subjected to bullying behaviour by a colleague has succeeded in her claim of constructive unfair dismissal against the NHS trust she worked for. The nurse had begun working for the trust as a Diabetes Specialist Nurse in 2012. In September 2018, she disagreed with a colleague about the appropriate treatment of a patient, and he asked if she was questioning his competency. After she reported the incident it was confirmed that her clinical assessment had been correct. She claimed…

Representing Yourself in Employment Proceedings is a Recipe for Muddle

Those who choose to represent themselves in employment proceedings, without the benefit of legal advice, often have enormous difficulty in getting their real complaints across. That was certainly so in the case of a woman who claimed to have been so badly treated by her employer that she was forced to resign. The woman had been in her job for less than three months when she resigned. The fees her employer had paid to a recruitment agency when she was taken on – which came to £945 – were…

Work From Home Dispute Raises Key Issue for the Modern Workplace

As the employment landscape continues to shift in the post-pandemic era, employees and employers can find themselves at odds when it comes to expectations of flexible and remote working. The issue was brought to light at Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings centred on a woman’s request to work from home. The woman had been employed by a financial regulator since 2005. Her initial contract indicated that her normal place of work would be at a physical office location. This changed in early 2020…