Claimant v The Rishton Pub Company Limited

The tribunal found that Tracey Chippendale shouted at the claimant weekly from August 2022, criticised her for not mopping properly, not hoovering properly, told her she was useless, made mocking remarks about her pain and whether she could attend a wedding given her neck condition, and laughed when she fell over the hoover. This unwanted conduct was related to her disability (neck condition) and had the effect of violating her dignity and creating a humiliating and offensive environment. The tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that the shouting and criticism were directly linked to her inability to perform certain tasks due to her neck pain and mobility issues.

The tribunal found that the dismissal on 14 January 2023 was unwanted conduct related to disability. Tracey dismissed the claimant saying 'I'm going to have to let you go' whilst she was cleaning toilets mid-shift. The tribunal accepted the claimant's evidence that she was dismissed because of her neck condition and pain, not poor performance. The respondent's explanation (decline in business) was implausible. Evidence showed Tracey wanted to give the weekend shifts to another cleaner's daughter. The dismissal had the effect of humiliating the claimant and creating an offensive environment.

The tribunal did not determine the direct discrimination claim because under section 212 Equality Act, detriment does not include conduct that amounts to harassment. Having found the claims succeeded as harassment, there was no need to also consider them under section 13 direct discrimination.

The unfair dismissal complaint was dismissed at a case management hearing on 25 March 2024 by Employment Judge Slater because the claimant did not have two years continuous service.

The tribunal accepted the claimant's oral evidence that she took only one shift (3 hours on 10 December 2022) as annual leave during her entire employment from 4 November 2021 to 14 January 2023. The tribunal calculated her pro rata entitlement to 28 days annual leave, worked out accrual for each calendar year including 2021 carry-over, and found she was owed £21.28 (2021 carry-over) + £114.00 (2022 untaken leave) + £5.32 (2023 accrued leave) = £140.60.

The claimant emailed the tribunal on 2 August 2023 to confirm that the notice pay claim was resolved and confirmed this again on 27 January 2025. The tribunal dismissed the notice pay complaint on withdrawal in a separate judgment.