Mrs Rebecca Tarlow v Jewish Blind and Physically DIsabled Society — 2023

Mrs Rebecca Tarlow worked as a House Manager for the Jewish Blind and Physically Disabled Society from 18 December 2017 until her dismissal on 15 March 2022. The respondent is a charity providing independent living accommodation and support, and the claimant was subject to a Professional Boundaries policy that stated staff were not allowed to administer any medication or fit any medical appliance to service users, and that failure to adhere to the policy may lead to disciplinary action. The dismissal arose from an incident on 27 February 2022 when the claimant gave a tenant two paracetamol tablets and a hot water bottle while the tenant was in pain and suffering from severe dementia.

The tribunal accepted that the claimant had breached the policy by administering medication, but it held that the respondent had not carried out a reasonable assessment of the claimant's conduct before dismissing her. In particular, the tribunal found that Mr Chakimi, who made the dismissal decision, did not take proper account of the claimant's account that she had checked the hot water bottle to make sure it was not too hot, dripping, or faulty, and did not have reasonable grounds to conclude that the claimant had acted dangerously. The tribunal also found that, although the claimant knew the respondent's policy, the respondent did not have reasonable grounds to think the tenant's age or dementia made her more susceptible to paracetamol overdose than other adults.

The unfair dismissal claim therefore succeeded. For remedy, the tribunal found that the claimant had mitigated her losses by obtaining part-time nannying work from the week commencing 9 May 2022. It calculated immediate loss of earnings at £11,588.54 and future loss at £10,756.72, giving a compensatory award of £22,345.26 before reductions. The tribunal rejected Polkey reduction, rejected any reduction for failure to appeal under the Acas Code, and reduced the compensatory award by 33% for contributory conduct. It also reduced the basic award by 33% for conduct before dismissal, resulting in a basic award of £3,426 and a total award of £17,266.74. The unpaid holiday pay claim was withdrawn at the hearing and disposed of accordingly.