Do you struggle with your mental health and work for an employer where there’s a long-hours culture? Are you overloaded? Despite requests for help, is your boss doing nothing about it?
Here’s a story about one employee who had poor mental health in a workplace with a long-hours culture. After losing her job, she won £168,000.
Poor mental health + long-hours culture = £168,000 for Elizabeth
You might have heard about Elizabeth Aylott – she was an employment law lecturer at BPP University where there was a culture of working long hours.
She suffered from autistic spectrum order, anxiety, irritable bowel syndrome and depression. In addition, her husband had died, her father was sick, and her son was diagnosed with myalgic encephalomyelitis – so she had a lot to cope with.
Despite this, she typically worked up to 60 hours per week including evenings and weekends, and even cancelled a week’s holiday to get everything done that she needed to do.
Elizabeth asked to be referred to Occupational Health, but her bosses failed to reduce her workload, and colleagues made “crass and insensitive” comments about her.
Rather than providing the support she requested, BPP terminated her employment under a Settlement Agreement (known as a Compromise Agreement in Northern Ireland).
As a result, she took them to the employment tribunal in April 2019.
For further details, see the article we wrote about the case last July: “I’m overworked and it’s affecting my mental health”
What happened next
After finding that Elizabeth was constructively unfair dismissed, the tribunal has recently awarded her £168,000, which includes:
- £71,000 compensation for future financial losses
- £32,000 for past financial losses
- £20,000 for injury to feelings
Her claims for direct disability discrimination, indirect disability discrimination, harassment, and failure to make reasonable adjustment were all dismissed.
Where her employer went wrong
- BPP should have noticed that she wasn’t coping
- In the context of her poor mental state, Elizabeth should not have been told that she “should have been able to handle her workload”
- They should have reduced her workload or provided extra support, such as referring her to Occupational Health when requested
- They should have let her see the complaint and defend herself. As they didn’t do this, it was “unfavourable treatment”
Do you work long hours despite poor mental health?
If you’re over-worked and have a mental health issue, your employer should take your requests for support seriously. And, if you end up being offered a Settlement Agreement, they should follow a proper process.
If they don’t do this, you may be able to make a claim. Of course, we can help with that.
Further reading
- “I’m concerned about my mental health”
- “My employer will not help with my disability”
- Disability discrimination: What you need to know
Need help?
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