Member Lorraine Brown Tribunal Member Vernon Alexander Ms K Scott v HBOS plc — 2022

The claimant applied to change her working pattern so that she worked Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday rather than Monday, Wednesday and Friday. The respondents refused the request on the basis that Fridays were among the busiest days at the Hawick branch and that the change would have a detrimental effect on customer demand and management support.

The Tribunal accepted that Friday was a busier day in the Hawick branch, while also finding that Tuesdays were busy days in the respondents' Borders branches. However, it found that the respondents were not factually correct in concluding that the claimant's absence on Fridays would have a detrimental effect on their ability to meet customer demand. The Tribunal preferred evidence from a Grade B Supervisor who worked in the Banking Hall and found that reducing managers from three to two had not caused such a detrimental effect.

On remedy, the Tribunal considered that the respondents had followed a process, but also noted that the original decision-maker had not made enquiries of Banking Hall staff, had not shown the claimant the statistics relied on, and that the appeal decision-maker made no independent enquiries. It also noted that the suggested compromise did not resolve the claimant's childcare issue and that job share or a trial period had not been explored. It awarded six weeks' gross wages as just and equitable compensation.