Mr S Knox v The Chief Constable Of Merseyside Police — 2019

The claimant, a serving police officer, brought claims under the Equality Act 2010 after a long sickness absence and disputes about flexible working, absence management, Occupational Health support, and subject access requests. Many allegations were withdrawn before or during the hearing. The tribunal held that it had no jurisdiction to consider the direct sex discrimination complaint about refusal of the claimant's PER50 shift-pattern application, or either sex-related harassment complaint, because those complaints were presented outside the statutory time limit and it was not just and equitable to extend time.

The tribunal upheld one disability-related harassment complaint. It found that Sergeant McKenzie's e-mail of 26 October 2017, which referred to a return to work notice and possible UPP procedures if the claimant did not return to work, was unwanted conduct related to the claimant's disability. Coupled with the return to work plan served on 27 October 2017, the e-mail reasonably created an intimidating environment for the claimant, who was absent with stress, anxiety and depression. The tribunal dismissed the other disability harassment allegations, finding that Chief Inspector Garvey-Jones had not promised to write a favourable full-pay report, that the 31 July 2017 return to work plan did not have the alleged proscribed effect after Inspector Creer told the claimant to ignore it, and that the Occupational Health discharge in July 2017 could not reasonably be perceived as creating the statutory harassment environment.