Firefighter wins claim for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.

A tribunal awarded a firefighter more than £42,000 after finding she was unfairly dismissed and discriminated against due to her disability. The firefighter suffered serious mental ill health after discovering a senior colleague she had been in a relationship with searched her bag and read her private diary at work. Although the colleague received a written warning, she was left traumatised and medically unfit to return to operational duties.

The tribunal found that the employer pressured her to return to firefighting despite occupational health advice stating she was not fit to do so and sanctioned her when she refused on medical grounds. Managers failed to make reasonable adjustments, ignored occupational health recommendations, and did not adequately consider redeployment outside the fire service.

This case highlighted the need for sensitive handling of return-to-work processes, especially when workplace events trigger ill health, and stressed the importance of reasonable adjustments, proper use of occupational health advice, and clear records.

The judge ruled the employer’s actions worsened the employee’s mental health, constituting disability discrimination, failure to make reasonable adjustments, and constructive unfair dismissal, awarding her £42,853.73 in compensation.

Contact 121 HR Solutions on 0800 9995 121 to discuss any potentially litigious matters and how you can mitigate exposure of risk in managing such matters.

Firefighter wins claim for unfair dismissal and disability discrimination.

121 HR Solutions Ltd