An employment tribunal has ruled that Avon and Somerset Police failed to make reasonable adjustments for a worker who received disability harassment.
Donna Vale was employed by the police force as a victim and witness care officer on a fixed-term contract between September 2023 and May 2024.
Vale received an attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) diagnosis in May 2023 from ADHD360. She had previously been to her GP, who did not think she had ADHD, which led her to seek a private assessment.
She disclosed her ADHD at the start of her contract and requested noise-cancelling headphones when she started her employment and again after her four-week review, but these were not provided.
Her line manager, Jennie Clarke, told the tribunal that she did not refer the matter to HR or occupational health.
Vale then described feeling “out of it” and disclosed to a colleague that her ADHD medication was not prescribed via a GP and was managed by ADHD360. When she returned to work, she mentioned to Clarke that she was having doubts about her diagnosis due to the Panorama programme. Clarke agreed and then “repeatedly questioned” the legitimacy of ADHD360 and the diagnosis.
The tribunal ruled the force was guilty of disability harassment following comments by Vale’s manager about her ADHD.
A remedy hearing will be held on 30 June to decide on a compensation fee. A tribunal document said it is estimated to be about £126,542.
Judge Edmund Beever stated that it was an unusual issue as Vale did have her own noise-cancelling headphones.
Judge Beever said: “It was [Vale] that introduced the Panorama programme into the conversation, but that does not demand the conclusion that [Vale] was content with a conversation the underlying premise of which was that her employer was doubtful that she was properly diagnosed let alone agreeing with her employer’s suggestion that she had been exploited. Providing [Vale] with noise-cancelling headphones was a reasonable adjustment which the force failed to do.”
Avon and Somerset Police was contacted for comment prior to publication.
