NHS cleaner sacked for taking 400 sick days in four years wins huge payout

They would not acknowledge her disability

Zoe Kitching had several extended periods of absence from her role at the Lancaster Suite at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary between 2019 and 2023.

She was dismissed after her boss refused to acknowledge she was disabled.

The majority of Kitching's time off was due to 'complex mental health issues' but one NHS superior insisted she wasn't disabled before her unjust dismissal.

Kitching represented herself at the Manchester hearing and successfully sued the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.

She won claims of disability discrimination and unfair dismissal, resulting in an award of £49,147 in damages.

It was revealed at the hearing that Kitching often experienced breakdowns leading to time off and her requests for reduced hours from her manager Ruth Bradburn were denied.

One period of disability-related absence, from September 2020 to January 2021, lasted for 130 days. 

Despite previously being classified as disabled, in January 2021, the hospital received an occupational health report which 'curiously' stated she was 'not a disabled person within the meaning of the Equality Act 2010', according to the tribunal, reports The Mirror.

In the months following, Bradburn, the Patient Environment Site Services Manager, held meetings with Kitching about her absences and set targets to reduce her days off.

In June 2023, her absences had improved but she was sacked by David Passant, Divisional Manager of Facilities.

Christopher Brisley, People and OD Business Partner, told Passant that Kitching was not disabled.

The tribunal judgement said: "[Ms Kitching] was extremely upset by the decision to dismiss her and the refusal of Mr Passant to recognise that [she] was a disabled person as defined under the Equality Act 2010.

"[Ms Kitching] asked for another chance and explained that her absences had been due to mental health. [She] said it was unnecessary for her to lose her job.

"[Ms Kitching] was extremely upset after the decision was taken at appeal not to overturn the original decision to dismiss. We've accepted [her] evidence she felt she had been dismissed twice."

Records show that between 2019 and June 2023 she had a total of 406 absence days. 85 per cent of these were due to her disability while 12 per cent were due to other ailments such as Covid or general cold and flu.

Employment Judge Robert Childe criticised the managers, adding: "We find the [NHS trust] should have permitted a high level of sickness absence overall from [Ms Kitching] and the failure to do so was a failure to make adjustments. We find the [NHS trust] did not act reasonably in treating as a sufficient reason for dismissing [Ms Kitching] in the circumstances.

"At no time during the dismissal meeting or appeal meeting did the [NHS trust] agree that [Ms Kitching] was a disabled person... which led to an unfair and fundamentally flawed and discriminatory decision to dismiss [her]. There was a wealth of medical evidence available... that [Ms Kitching] was a disabled person.

"We were particularly surprised Christopher Brisley advised Mr Passant, that [Ms Kitching] was not a disabled person. The decision to deny [Ms Kitching] was disabled was irrational and wrong, given the medical evidence available to the contrary."