Employer liable for “harassing” employee while off sick

Anglian Water Group

Anglian Water liable for “harassing”
employee while off sick

Anglian Water Group has been found liable for harassment after asking an employee to return to work from sick leave too quickly after surgery.

A recently published Employment Tribunal judgement shows the risks to employers of contacting employees while they are unwell and of seeking an early return to work.

The facts of the case

Crette Berry, a contact centre worker, joined Anglian Water in May 2022 as a Contact Centre Worker. She had made Anglian Water aware she would need a hysterectomy before her employment started. A hysterectomy is major surgery and recovery can take many months.

The company arranged an occupational health assessment, which advised that she had suffered with endometriosis for about 10 years, that surgery was likely to be needed and the anticipated recover time. The Tribunal decided the business had clear knowledge that Ms Berry was disabled.

Ms Berry was invited to an absence meeting, shortly after having had the surgery. She claimed the process had left her “humiliated”. Ms Berry resigned from the role in March 2023, claiming constructive dismissal and disability discrimination.

What went wrong

Less than three weeks after the hysterectomy, Ms Berry’s manager sent her a letter inviting her to an attendance support meeting, to be held remotely. Five days later, the manager sent a WhatsApp message asking her if she’d received the letter.

Ms Berry responded to the message saying she was very sick and wasn’t sure if she’d be able to attend the meeting. The day before the proposed meeting, she confirmed she would not be able to participate. The meeting was rescheduled for the following week.

The judgement

Whilst the Employment Judge, Dr Peter McTigue, said that contacts from the company had been “polite and appropriate”, he decided it should have given Ms Berry more time to fully recover from the surgery.

Whilst further harassment and disability discrimination claims from Ms Berry were dismissed, the Judge ruled that the manager should have waited at least eight days after the first letter was sent, before making contact again.

Lessons for HR

  • Contact with employees that are off sick must be polite and supportive
  • Following agreed policies and procedures is essential
  • You must give employees a “reasonable” time to respond to communications whilst they are ill
  • In this case, “reasonable” was determined to be following up eight days after initial contact

Anglian Water said: “We take looking after our people incredibly seriously and are pleased that the judge and panel found no failing in our overall people management processes.”

 

 

 

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