Kani Toure started working for HMRC in 2019, an employment tribunal heard. The following year, she told her manager that she would not like a birthday card sent to her from the team on her birthday. Her manager agreed.
Before Toure took sick leave for work-related stress in 2021, she stated that she wanted work correspondence to be kept to a minimum.
However, while on sick leave, and under a new manager who had not been made aware of Toure’s request, she received a birthday card as well as 11 emails within a three week period.
The tribunal heard that the correspondence from her manager while off sick exacerbated Toure’s stress symptoms and health condition.
Toure won 10 of a wider set of claims for race and disability harassment and discrimination. She was awarded £25,251.62 in compensation on Wednesday (19 March), including £20,000 for injury to feelings.
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HR leaders must ensure they have robust keeping in touch policies, when an employee is off on sick leave, in order to mitigate similar risks from happening, according to Phil Floyd, head of investigations at workplace relationships specialist CMP.
Floyd told HR magazine: “Keeping in touch policy and guidance makes it clear to employees the reasons why an employer must keep in touch with them throughout the time they are away from work; and for management, the need to record preferences and requests in terms of contact, and guidance on how to do it, and how often.
“It's good practice to maintain a record of all contact with the employee, including the reason for contact, the means of contact and any relevant information from the conversation."
The tribunal also heard that, by September 2020, Toure felt she was being 'left out' of training opportunities compared to her colleagues. By November 2020, she submitted a formal complaint.
She was transferred to HMRC's Canary Wharf office on a temporary basis for six months. The tribunal heard that Toure was told she would have to withdraw her complaint if she wanted the transfer to be made permanent.
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Speaking to HR magazine, Fiona Hewitt, partner at law firm Constantine Law, stated: “Even if, as was the employer’s position here, the contact is made with good intentions, an employee’s reasonable requests should not be overridden.
“It is important to listen to the requests of those who are off sick, particularly when their absence is related to a disability.”
