Zoe Kitching, an NHS cleaner, was awarded £50,000 after being unfairly dismissed despite her mental health struggles and extensive sick leave.
Lancaster: An NHS cleaner named Zoe Kitching was let go after taking 400 sick days over four years. She recently won nearly £50,000 in compensation for her unfair dismissal.
Zoe faced serious mental health challenges, which led to her taking sick leave from 2019 to 2023. Despite having proof of her struggles, the management didn’t seem to care. They fired her for being absent too often.
An employment judge was shocked that one NHS manager thought Zoe was fit to work. The tribunal found it was wrong to deny her disability status. They said she should have been given more sick leave.
Zoe worked as a cleaner at the Royal Lancaster Infirmary. She represented herself in court and won her case against the University Hospitals of Morecambe Bay NHS Foundation Trust.
She dealt with depression, anxiety, and bipolar disorder. Her health issues were complex, and records showed she was off work for 406 days in total.
Of those days, 85% were linked to her disability. The rest were for other reasons like Covid-19 or the flu. It’s clear her health struggles were significant.
In January 2021, a report claimed she wasn’t disabled, which the tribunal found puzzling. Over the months, her manager held meetings with her about her absences and set targets for improvement.
Even though her situation improved, she was still fired by a divisional manager. The NHS managers ignored clear evidence of her disability, which Zoe felt was unfair.
The tribunal noted that Zoe was very upset about her dismissal. She had asked for another chance, explaining her absences were due to her mental health.
The judge criticized the managers for not recognizing her disability. He stated that the NHS trust should have allowed her more sick leave and that firing her was unreasonable.
In the end, the tribunal found that the decision to dismiss Zoe was flawed and discriminatory. There was plenty of medical evidence showing she was indeed disabled.
It’s a tough situation, and it’s great to see Zoe getting the recognition she deserves. She fought hard for her rights, and it paid off.
