After deliberately coughing on staff’s face, Cawdor Cars has been ordered to pay a former employee over £26,000. The employee resigned shortly after the incident and brought multiple claims against the company, including for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal.
Read on to learn more about the facts of the case and the ruling of the Employment Tribunal.
What Exactly Happened?
Company Owner Coughing on Staff’s Face Despite Request for Social Distancing
The employee in question, Ms Philpott, commenced employment with Cawdor Cars in 2017. She worked as a property manager, handling the company’s portfolio of hotels and housing developments.
Situated in Newcastle Emlyn in West Wales, she earned £11.00 per hour. Ms Philpott had always had a turbulent relationship with Kevin Davies, the company’s owner, but she was not intimidated by him. She typically stood up to him when the need arose.
Ms Philpott suffered from psoriatic arthritis and an autoimmune condition. These constituted disabilities under the Equality Act 2010. Management at Cawdor Cars was aware of Ms Philpott’s health conditions throughout her employment with the company and made reasonable adjustments to accommodate them on previous occasions.
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In March 2020, the Coronavirus pandemic was spreading across the globe and daily health warnings and guidance were being released on how to stay safe. Ms Philpott requested that colleagues socially distance from her due to her disability causing her to be more vulnerable.
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On 17 March 2020, Kevin Davies was working in the same office as Ms Philpott. As they passed in the corridor, Kevin Davies was deliberately coughing on her face and saying that she was “being ridiculous”. Ms Philpott complained vehemently at the time, both in person and via email to Kevin Davies and another manager. She also reported the matter to the police. However, it does not appear that any action was taken as a result of these complaints.
Claim for Disability Discrimination for Owner Coughing on Staff’s Face
Relations between Ms Philpott and managers at Cawdor Cars, including Kevin Davies, deteriorated considerably over subsequent months. In addition to the incident of Kevin Davies coughing on staff’s face, Ms Philpott raised issues relating to pay, excessive workload, and colleagues failing to pull their weight.
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In May 2020, Ms Philpott was contacted by another manager to tell her that redundancies were being considered across the company and that her job may be at risk. Shortly afterwards, she was asked to come back into the office to work rather than work from home. However, she said that she was shielding due to her disability and increased vulnerability. In June 2020, Ms Philpott was asked to return all files, equipment, and keys to the office.
Ms Philpott raised a grievance with Cawdor Cars in early June 2020, which the company forwarded to its solicitors. Following this, Ms Philpott resigned on 13 June 2020, giving her reason for an “untenable working environment”. She brought multiple claims against Cawdor Cars, including for disability discrimination and unfair dismissal.
What Did the Employment Tribunal Say?
Ms Philpott’s claim was heard in the Wrexham Employment Tribunal by Employment Judge Tobias Vincent Ryan. The tribunal held that Kevin Davies’ act of coughing on staff’s face constituted unfavourable treatment.
Given that Cawdor Cars was aware of Ms Philpott’s disability and of her desire for social distancing due to the Coronavirus pandemic and her increased vulnerability, the unfavourable treatment amounted to discrimination arising from a disability under the Equality Act 2010.
Coughing on Staff’s Face During the Pandemic Called “Gross Behaviour” by Tribunal
The tribunal said that coughing on anyone’s face, let alone someone vulnerable, is unfavourable treatment. Judge Ryan further added, “Doing that because of a pandemic is gross behaviour and doing it to somebody who is vulnerable because of a medical condition and who has asked for respectful social distancing is appalling.”
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With respect to Ms Philpott’s resignation, the tribunal agreed that, on the facts, this was unfair constructive dismissal. Judge Ryan explained that her resignation arose from her feeling victimised. He further added, “She felt that she was being eased out partly because of her complaints. She was correct.”
Cawdor Cars were ordered to pay Ms Philpott a total of £26,438.84 for Kevin Davies’ coughing on staff’s face. This comprised compensation for injury to feelings and unfair dismissal, plus interest.
Chris Hadrill, Partner in the employment team at Redmans, commented on the case as follows: “The Employment Tribunal found that Mr Davies had deliberately coughed on the Claimant, and this was clearly inappropriate behaviour on his part. Employers should take reasonably practicable steps to protect employees from inappropriate behaviour, and should ensure that they have appropriate grievance processes set up to deal with any complaints – a failure to do so can, potentially, result in further compensation being ordered by the Employment Tribunal.”