Member Mr P O’Hagan Tribunal Member Dr P Findlay Ms K Modeste v Barclays Bank UK plc — 2020

The claimant was employed as a Moment Community Banker in a contact centre. It was accepted by the final hearing that she was disabled for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010 by reason of PTSD. The claims arose after she received three sexualised or inappropriate calls from members of the public in 2018, which caused distress, discomfort and anxiety. The tribunal found that the respondent had taken steps including action against the first caller, reminding the claimant she could terminate inappropriate calls, referring her to occupational health, offering support, and adjusting her calls so that she would only receive calls from verified customers.

For the reasonable adjustments claim, the tribunal accepted that the requirement to handle customer calls was a provision, criterion or practice and that it placed the claimant personally at a disadvantage. However, it found that the claimant had not proved the required comparative disadvantage when compared with persons who were not disabled by PTSD. It also found that the respondent did not have actual or constructive knowledge of the claimant's PTSD or of the relevant effects at the material times, having asked questions of the claimant and obtained occupational health advice which did not identify a long-term condition or PTSD.

For the indirect disability discrimination claim, the tribunal again accepted that the call-handling requirement caused individual disadvantage. The claim failed because the tribunal found no cogent evidence that call handlers with PTSD as a group suffered or would suffer a particular disadvantage compared with people without PTSD. In the alternative, it found that the requirement was justified as a proportionate means of achieving the legitimate aim of servicing customer needs by telephone in a timely manner, taking into account the respondent's ability to restrict calls, act against callers, and permit call handlers to end inappropriate calls.