Katrina Hibbert (“the Claimant”) was employed as a safeguarding sergeant with Thames Valley Police (“the Respondent”).
The Claimant was experiencing work-related stress due to the nature of her role and during an occupational health assessment, was advised that undertaking a hobby outside of work may have a positive effect on her mental health and wellbeing. The Claimant therefore sought approval from the Respondent to begin her own business creating and theming party tents.
In May 2019, the Claimant was signed off work by her GP for work-related stress, meaning she was not fit to carry out her duties for the Respondent at this time. Whilst the Claimant was on sick leave, it was brought to the Respondent’s attention that she was continuing to work for herself in her party business as she was posting content on her social media which they described as “upbeat and happy”.
Following this, the Respondent revoked their agreement for the Claimant to pursue other lines of work whilst she was employed by them and informed the Claimant that their reasoning for this was that running the business could be affecting her return to work. The Claimant argued that disallowing her to continue her business was unlikely to aid her return to work.
The Respondent commenced disciplinary proceedings for gross misconduct against the Claimant who resigned in response as she felt she was not mentally strong enough to deal with this due to her ongoing health condition.
The Claimant brought claims for constructive unfair dismissal relating to disability discrimination in the Employment Tribunal. The Tribunal found that the Claimant had suffered discrimination arising from a disability, and that the Respondent had failed to make reasonable adjustments for her. As the Claimant resigned in response to the Respondent’s conduct, it was found that she was constructively dismissed.
The case is unusual because police officers are not employees and therefore cannot ordinarily claims for constructive dismissal under the Employment Rights Act 1996, however as the Claimant’s resignation arose from conduct relating to a protected characteristic, she was able to bring the constructive dismissal claim under the Equality Act 2010.
The Claimant was awarded £1,168,561 in compensation, including £34,000 to compensate the injury to her health as a result of the discrimination.
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