Nuffield Health trainer awarded £148k after raising MOD safety concerns

A Nuffield Health employee has been awarded £148,000 after an employment tribunal found she suffered detriment and was constructively dismissed following concerns she raised about Ministry of Defence fitness testing procedures.

Jennifer Cafferky, Associate Solicitor in our employment team, reports on this recent case.

The tribunal heard that the claimant, a personal trainer, raised concerns in June 2022 about the way a pre-joining fitness test had been conducted. She believed that an individual with a blood pressure reading outside acceptable limits had nevertheless been allowed to proceed to the physical stage of the test.

She escalated the issue to a senior colleague responsible for MOD testing after concluding that her immediate manager had not properly addressed her concerns. The tribunal accepted that this amounted to a protected disclosure relating to health and safety.

Following the disclosure, the claimant said she was treated unfavourably by managers. The tribunal found that her concerns had caused annoyance and that a series of actions followed, including the withdrawal of previously authorised payments, the withholding of wages, and disciplinary proceedings brought against her.

The claimant was later subjected to a disciplinary process and given a final written warning for alleged misconduct. The tribunal found that aspects of the process were flawed and that the treatment she received formed part of a pattern of detriment after she had raised her concerns.

She subsequently resigned, citing ongoing issues including the handling of her pay, disciplinary action and what she described as bullying behaviour. The tribunal concluded that she had been constructively dismissed.

In a detailed remedies decision, the tribunal awarded compensation totalling approximately £148,000. This included compensation for loss of earnings, injury to feelings, unpaid wages, statutory sick pay and holiday pay, together with a sum to reflect tax.

The tribunal found that the claimant had suffered financial loss as well as distress arising from the way her concerns were handled and the subsequent treatment she received at work.

If you would like more information about the issues raised in this article or any aspect of employment law, please contact Jennifer on 01228 516666 or click here to send her an email.