This case involves the unfair dismissal of Allison Shearer, a teacher employed by South Lanarkshire Council, who was awarded over £60,000 after her worsening menopause symptoms during a dispute about moving to a different school base led to her termination.
Allison Shearer, an experienced English teacher working with pupils with additional needs, was employed by South Lanarkshire Council. Based at Clydesdale Support Base in Carluke, Ms. Shearer faced a proposed relocation to Kear School in Blantyre. Kear School is part of the Kear Campus group, known for educating pupils with additional social, emotional, and behavioural needs, often exhibiting distressed behaviour, including violence. The head teacher, Neil Govan, who oversees both schools, emphasised a duty of care that included a plan to allow an underage pupil with asthma to vape in every class, which Ms. Shearer opposed.
Ms. Shearer expressed her concerns about the high levels of violence at Kear School, fearing it would exacerbate her blood pressure and menopause symptoms. Despite these concerns and a supporting occupational health report, her health issues were disregarded by the head teacher. Ms. Shearer was given an ultimatum to either accept a permanent supply teaching role or move to a school for pupils with severe disabilities. When she refused, citing her lack of qualifications and health concerns, she was dismissed while on sick leave.
Ms. Shearer claimed unfair dismissal, citing health-related discrimination and the employer’s failure to accommodate her medical conditions.
The judgement findings
The employment tribunal found in her favour, noting the dismissive and unhelpful response from the head teacher to her health report. The tribunal highlighted that no reasonable employer would have insisted on her transfer to Kear School, considering the adverse impact on her health. Consequently, Ms. Shearer was awarded £61,074.55 for unfair dismissal, loss of earnings, and compensation for injury to feelings due to menopause mismanagement.
Learnings for employers
Employers must prioritise employees’ health and wellbeing, especially when dealing with medical conditions like menopause. Employers are becoming increasingly aware that menopausal symptoms may amount to a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and with that, individuals are protected against unlawful discrimination and must be supported with reasonable adjustments to avoid menopause mismanagement.
Employers should seriously consider occupational health reports and be aware of their legal duty to accommodate reasonable adjustments to prevent exacerbating health issues.
Dismissal or disciplinary actions should not be taken without thorough consideration of the employee’s circumstances and the potential impact on their health. Ensuring a supportive and understanding work environment can prevent disputes and promote a more positive, productive workplace, mitigating risks of menopause mismanagement.
Some employers chose to have a specific Menopause Policy in their workplace, to proactively support those who are either experiencing it, or no of family members who are. You can download our template Menopause Policy here.
HELPFUL HR POLICIES
Our HR Document Shop is full of helpful templates and policies to guide and assist you through a wide range of topics which can be difficult to manage alone. Our HR Document Shop is a powerful resource for your business to utilise.
Amongst all of our helpful policies, we recently created the Menopause Policy. This helpful policy can be used to assist anybody that is going through the menopause and offers guidance on how you can best handle the situation.
Download your Menopause Policy here.
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