Ms A Kavale v Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust — 2021

The tribunal found that the respondent applied a provision, criterion or practice requiring staff to attend the office two days per week, and accepted that this put women, and the claimant, at a particular disadvantage because of the unequal burden of childcare. It found, however, that the respondent pursued legitimate aims including effective delivery of its business, team integration, support for the claimant in light of performance concerns, and maximising effectiveness, and that the requirement was proportionate given the flexibility offered.

The harassment complaints concerned comments, meeting requests, an improvement notice, and performance scoring. The tribunal found that some conduct was unwanted, but that the matters relied on were not related to sex and arose from management concerns about performance and conduct; it also found where relevant that the statutory harassment threshold was not met.

For victimisation, the respondent accepted that the claimant's grievance was a protected act. The tribunal found that the relevant actions, including Mr Kamya's email, the improvement notice, performance concerns, and the October 2023 flexible working decision, were not because of the protected act, and the claims were dismissed.