A nurse who claimed unfair dismissal and disability discrimination has had her case dismissed by the Employment and Equality Tribunal.
The tribunal found that Kathryn Fenner, who suffers with long covid, “was neither unfairly dismissed nor discriminated against on grounds of disability.”
Ms Fenner, who had been employed by Manx Care as a Community Nurse since September 2021, was dismissed on June 16, 2023, due to capability concerns.
Discrimination
The tribunal noted that “by June 16 2023, Ms Fenner had been employed for 634 days but had been signed-off as sick for 534 of them”.
It heard that she has been diagnosed as suffering with Long Covid.
The matter hinged on whether Manx Care had followed fair procedures and whether Ms Fenner’s dismissal constituted discrimination under the Equality Act 2017.
The tribunal acknowledged that “Long Covid is now a recognised health condition,” and that Manx Care conceded in December 2024 that Ms Fenner was “disabled” under the statutory definition.
However, the tribunal found that Manx Care had exhausted all reasonable options, noting that Ms Fenner was seen by Occupational Health four times.
A final report concluded that she was “was unfit for work in any capacity”.
It added: “No restrictions, adjustments or management action has been identified today to facilitate or expedite a return to work in any capacity in the foreseeable future.”
Ms Fenner argued that she should have had a further assessment closer to her dismissal date, but the tribunal ruled that “there would have been no point.”
Evidence
It also found that the decision to dismiss was fair, stating: “The weight of documentary evidence also showed that procedurally, the Capability Procedure was correctly applied from start to finish.”
Manx Care had offered Ms Fenner a career break or redeployment, but the tribunal noted, “she had declined this proposal, stating that she was a nurse and the proposal was not taken up.”
The tribunal concluded that Manx Care’s actions were justified: “Dismissing somebody who is long-term unwell is never an easy decision. It was only taken after giving Ms Fenner both time to get better, an attempted phased return and a fair investigation of the possible ways forward.”
Ultimately, the tribunal dismissed Mss Fenner’s claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination but expressed hope that “her health recovers so that she can apply to return to work as a Community Nurse where her long experience would be valuable.”
You can read the full verdict here.
2 Comments