Thames Valley Police (TVP) have been ordered to pay over £1 million in compensation to former safeguarding sergeant Katrina Hibbert after she was found to have been discriminated against by the force. Hibbert, who worked with victims of child sexual and drug exploitation in Cherwell and West Oxfordshire, resigned from TVP after it revoked permission for her to run her party and event business while she was off sick with work-related stress. During her sick leave, her manager discovered she had been posting upbeat and happy content on the business’ Facebook page and withdrew her business interest approval. The tribunal found TVP had failed to make reasonable adjustments and that Hibbert’s resignation amounted to unlawful constructive discriminatory dismissal.
Hibbert had started the business as a “positive outlet” to help her cope with the stress of her job, something an occupational health nurse had suggested after she was signed off with work-related stress in May 2019. After getting business interest approval, which lets employees pursue other lines of work outside their job, she began creating and theming party tents.
She warned TVP that taking away her “happy and creative distraction” was unlikely to promote a faster return to work. However, the force later started disciplinary proceedings against her for allegedly carrying on with her business. In March 2020, she resigned from TVP, saying she was “not mentally strong enough to battle through a gross misconduct”. The tribunal awarded her about £1,168,000, which included cash for future financial losses.
TVP’s Deputy Chief Constable Ben Snuggs said the force was a fair employer and had since worked hard to ensure that all lessons had been “fully captured”. Hibbert said that the way she had been treated by the police force had left her “completely mentally shattered”, adding that if TVP had treated her as the law requires, she would still be working in the career she loved
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