A former police officer has been handed more than \u00a31m in compensation after it was ruled she had been discriminated against.<\/b><\/p>\n
Katrina Hibbert was a safeguarding sergeant with Thames Valley Police (TVP), working with victims of child sexual and drug exploitation in Cherwell and West Oxfordshire.<\/p>\n
She had started a party and events business as a “positive outlet” to help her cope with the stress of her job, a tribunal heard.<\/p>\n
But she resigned from the force after it withdrew permission for her to run the business while she was off sick, which a judge found to be “discrimination arising from her disability”.<\/p>\n
An occupational health nurse had suggested taking up a hobby could improve Ms Hibbert’s mental wellbeing, the tribunal was told.<\/p>\n
After getting business interest approval – which lets an employee pursue other lines of work outside their job – she began “creating and theming party tents”.<\/p>\n
A doctor signed Ms Hibbert off with work-related stress in May 2019 after she learned a vulnerable young person she had been working with had died.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
During her sick leave, her line manager, Insp Craig Entwistle, discovered she had been posting what he described as “upbeat and happy” content on her business’ Facebook page.<\/p>\n
The force then removed Ms Hibbert’s business interest approval, telling her that running the business while off sick could be “impacting on [her] return”.<\/p>\n
But Ms Hibbert warned taking away her “happy and creative distraction” was unlikely to promote a faster return to work.<\/p>\n
TVP then started disciplinary proceedings against her for allegedly carrying on with her business, the tribunal heard.<\/p>\n
In March 2020, Ms Hibbert resigned from TVP, adding she was “not mentally strong enough to battle through a gross misconduct”.<\/p>\n
The proceedings later collapsed after it was found TVP had failed to follow the business interest appeal procedure.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
TVP had failed to make reasonable adjustments and discriminated against Ms Hibbert by removing her business interest approval, the tribunal found.<\/p>\n
It also concluded her resignation amounted to unlawful constructive discriminatory dismissal.<\/p>\n
Ms Hibbert was awarded about \u00a31,168,000, which included cash for future financial losses.<\/p>\n
She said the way she had been treated by the police force had left her “completely mentally shattered”.<\/p>\n
“If TVP had listened to me, and had treated me as the law requires, I would still be working for them in the career I loved,” she added.<\/p>\n
Deputy Chief Constable Ben Snuggs said TVP was a fair employer and the force had since worked hard to ensure that all lessons had been “fully captured”.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"