Farting employee awarded over £135,000
Interesting case
In April 2023 it was reported that the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) had been ordered to pay one of its employed barristers, Tariq Mohammed (T), £135,862 in compensation by the tribunal.
T began working for the CPS as a senior prosecutor in 2004. In 2014 he suffered a heart attack which left him having to take daily medication that had several side effects. Unfortunately, one of those side effects was flatulence.
Shared office space
T returned to work in 2015 after a period of long-term sickness absence. In 2016 he started sharing a small office with Paul McGorry (P), another barrister employed by the CPS.
A few days after they started sharing an office, P noticed that T had flatulence. He asked T: “Do you have to do that Tarique?” .
A side effect
When T shared with P that his flatulence was a side effect of his daily heart medication, P asked him if he could go outside as and when necessary. T refused P’s request.
T then complained about P to CPS bosses, stating that P’s request that he “stop passing wind” had been embarrassing, violated his dignity and was an act of disability discrimination and harassment.
T also complained that he hadn’t been allowed to work from home or leave work at 4pm which would have assisted him in managing his heart-related condition which required daily medication.
Tribunal ruling
Eventually, T was sacked after another period of sick leave whereupon he claimed disability discrimination and harassment at the tribunal.
The tribunal found that P’s questions to T were not asked with the intention of violating his dignity or to cause offense. Instead, the tribunal found that it was not an unreasonable question to ask when there had been repeated instances of flatulence in such a small office.
Accepted the breach
However, the CPS had accepted that T was disabled and admitted failing to make any reasonable adjustments for him. It had also ignored occupational health advice. This meant T had experienced disability discrimination, hence the sizeable tribunal award (see The next step ).
Tip. Where an employee requests reasonable adjustments to help them manage the side effects of prescribed medication which they take for a long-term health condition or disability, you must consider their request and make adjustments which are reasonable. If you don’t, you will be in breach of your duties under the Equality Act 2010 .
Tip. If you are unsure why a requested adjustment would help an employee, ask them to explain. Alternatively, with the employee’s permission, you could seek assistance from an occupational health advisor. Keep a clear record of all agreed adjustments (see The next step ).
For the tribunal’s ruling in this case and a disability agreed adjustments record, visit https://tips-and-advice.co.uk , Download Zone, year 25, issue 09.
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