An Employment Tribunal has recently found that an employer failed to make accommodations and cater to an employee's need, which in turn resulted in indirect sex discrimination & unfair dismissal.
The claimant was employed as a shop assistant, and at the end of July 2018, it was announced that weekday members would need to work one weekend day every month on a rota basis.
The claimant raised (on several occasions) that she had sole care of her 8-year-old daughter, when she raised this once again with the manager, she was told it was up to her to arrange a swap if she was not able to work it.
The manager did not attempt to try and find any other solution for her.
The next time she was scheduled to work, she again told her manager that she had no childcare.
The manager expressed frustration with this and would not remove the shift as he was concerned others would want the same treatment. After several empty promises, the claimant resigned a week later.
The Employment Tribunal was critical of the managers' “disinterest” in helping this employee despite being aware of the situation and found their acts to be “…surprisingly neglect of… duty”
The Tribunal went on to note that the imposition of this practice put women at a significant disadvantage, as statistically, they were more likely to be primary or single caregivers to children.
As such these actions amounted to indirect sex discrimination.
It was ruled the employer acted in ways that “…destroyed or seriously damaged the relationship of trust and confidence between the employer and the employee.”.
This heavily factored into the claimant’s resignation, and therefore the Employment Tribunal found this was a case of constructive unfair dismissal.
Do you agree with the outcome?
Have you ever had something similar happen to you?
At Teams Solutions, we can support employers and employees alike through all aspects of the tribunal process.
For further inquiries view our website
www.teamssolutions.co.uk
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