Mrs Charles Paget v Wrexham County Borough Council — 2021

Mrs Charles Paget worked as an assistant team manager in adult social care and the respondent accepted that she was disabled for Equality Act purposes. The tribunal found that the introduction of the SPOA referral system changed how she carried out her work and that the preparation for the change had not been fully thought through. It accepted that the claimant experienced extreme stress, that formal supervision was not always recorded, that a stress risk assessment was not carried out, and that there was a temporary reduction to Statutory Sick Pay without prior notice, which was later apologised for and repaid.

On the constructive dismissal claim, the tribunal considered the alleged failures individually and cumulatively, including the lack of effective guidance, the supervision issues, the absence of a stress risk assessment, the SSP shortfall and the handling of the grievance. It found that a new job description was not required, that grievance handling was appropriate, and that although the situation was difficult and the claimant resigned because of her experience at work, the respondent's conduct did not reach the level of a fundamental breach of trust and confidence.

The disability discrimination claim for failure to make reasonable adjustments also failed. The tribunal was required to consider the identified PCP of requiring the claimant to undertake a new role following the merger of two departments, but it found that this practice was not in place. It referred to Secretary of State for Justice v Prospere [2015] when considering the need to decide the claim by reference to the PCP actually identified. The judgment therefore dismissed the claim in full and recorded no monetary award.