Disabled postal worker told to remove bag of medical supplies from work area was victim of disability harassment, tribunal rules

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A disabled postal worker who was told to remove a bag of medical supplies from her work area by an “insensitive” manager was a victim of disability harassment, a tribunal has ruled.

The London Central tribunal heard that although manager Ian Milne had the legal right to speak with Ms F Hagi about the bag since he was a manager, his behaviour in doing so was inappropriate and amounted to “unwanted conduct”, which had the effect of “violating her dignity.”

Employment judge Burns said that although Milne was not aware of Hagi’s condition or the fact that the bag contained medical supplies relating to her disability, “we do not consider this prevents his conduct being disability-related”.

Hagi's claims of disability-related harassment regarding incidents on two dates of her employment, a claim of direct disability discrimination, and two claims of a failure to make reasonable adjustments succeed. However, several additional claims were not upheld.

The tribunal heard that Hagi was employed as an operational postal grade at Royal Mail from 11 July 2005, working in the priority service area at the Mount Pleasant Centre. On 1 June 2020, she was relocated to a new sector called the Bullring, working under a new weekday manager.

Hagi has a range of health issues, both mental and physical, and is therefore classed as disabled under the Equality Act 2010.

The tribunal outlined that Hagi had made several complaints about colleagues from 2019 onwards, but an incident on 10 December 2020 involving her bag formed the main body of her claim.

It heard that Milne, a manager at Mount Pleasant Centre and not Hagi’s direct supervisor, noticed a personal bag that was “in his perspective” in the work area he was in charge of overseeing.

After asking his team, he established the bag belonged to Hagi, whose workspace “borders the area” that Milne oversaw. The tribunal heard that Hagi’s line manager had told her to put the bag in a Perspex tray in an agreed place where it would be “out of the way” – which she had done.

Milne told Hagi to remove the tray, but she refused, at which point Milne moved towards the bag himself. According to Milne, Hagi then became “aggressive”, accused him of picking on her and shoved him. However, while Hagi admitted that she got “angry” she denied pushing Milne and said she “simply tried to block his path with her arm” when he went towards her bag.

Milne was later told that Hagi had the bag for medical reasons and the tribunal heard he had “no idea”. Hagi submitted video and picture evidence to the tribunal of workers – one of which was in Milne’s team – carrying bags.

During his testimony, Milne acknowledged that one of his team members “frequently brought a personal bag into the workspace”, but he insisted that this was only done for “brief periods” and that she would take it out upon request.

On 13 March 2021, Hagi submitted a complaint about the incident to HR under Royal Mail’s Stop Bullying and Harassment Policy. Royal Mail allocated a shift manager at the Mount Pleasant Mail Centre to investigate it.

The shift manager rejected the claim of bullying and harassment made by Hagi. They determined that Milne had the right — as a manager — to inquire directly with Hagi about the bag without first consulting her management. Nevertheless, Milne could have handled the situation better and "shown more dignity and respect", the shift manager continued. They suggested that a mediation session would be advantageous for both parties to repair their shift-related relationship.

The tribunal found that although Milne, as a manager, was entitled to approach the claimant to ask her about the bag, his conduct in stepping towards the bag was “insensitive” in the circumstances and it amounted to “unwanted conduct which had the effect of violating Hagi’s dignity”.

Furthermore, unlike on previous occasions when she was questioned, Hagi had by this point presented medical documentation supporting her need for the bag and requested specific permission to keep it where it was from her on-shift manager.

It was further stated that Milne was unaware of Hagi's disability or the fact that the bag contained items specific to her disability.

"We do not consider this to prohibit his conduct from being disability-related because Hagi’s possession of the bag and what was inside of it were both related to her impairment," the tribunal said.

Andrew Willis, associate director of legal at Croner, said as with all tribunal cases, a decision is made based on the specific facts of the case. In this case, the proper inquiries about the employee’s bag and requests to move it, as well as the provision of medical evidence to explain why it was necessary and the manager’s permission on where it should have been kept is “all significant background context and contributable to the claim’s success”.

“Had this not happened, and the manager could not reasonably be expected to know of the disability, it’s possible that the claim could have failed,” Willis said.

Lesley Rennie, principal employment law solicitor at WorkNest, said the case was “a reminder that it doesn’t matter whether the harasser knows that the individual has a particular protected characteristic, in this case, disability, what matters is whether the statutory definition of harassment enshrined in the Equality Act 2010 is met”.

“Although this manager wasn’t aware of her disability, others within the business were and little had been done to investigate her health conditions, to explore and implement reasonable adjustments and to communicate these to the relevant managers to ensure that they were maintained. Had this been done, the incident could have been avoided,” Rennie added.

Amanda Trewhella, employment director at national law firm Freeths, agreed, adding that “employers will be liable for disability discrimination not just where they are aware of the employee's disability, but where they should have known.”

The case, while complex with several allegations, “is a reminder for employers to be aware of and be fully aware of an employee’s personal circumstances”, Trewhella said.

“Where an employer suspects that an employee may have a medical condition they should speak to the employee about how this affects them at work. Where it is discovered that an employee has a disability, the organisation has a duty to make any reasonable adjustments necessary to enable them to carry out their role.”

This tribunal remains only part heard as the claimant has been granted an extension to the usual time limit for raising complaints. The ET states: "We consider it just and equitable to do so."

Hagi could not be reached.