HMRC trainee awarded £155k after staff 'colluded' against him

A trainee investigator for HM Revenue and Customs has been awarded £155,000 for victimisation, failure to make reasonable adjustments and disability-related harassment.

R Wickham applied for a role as a trainee with HMRC's Fraud Investigation Service (FIS) in 2018, and as part of his application he was asked whether he required reasonable adjustments or considered himself disabled.

He replied that this was not the case but disclosed that he had taken a number of sick days in his previous role as a prison officer having been involved in an attack where he had been bitten.

He told HMRC that this affected his mental health, including PTSD symptoms, but his mental health history was not communicated to his managers, the tribunal heard.

Wickham began the trainee role in April 2019 and attended an assessment with occupational health, which reported that his anxiety was "settled, no ongoing issues".

In August 2021, his assessor Ms J Rockett failed his training, raising suspicions with colleagues that he had not been truthful about his mental health.

She had repeatedly flagged his training as falling behind during 2020 and into 2021, which the tribunal linked to the pandemic and lockdown.

In March 2021, he disclosed to another manager that he was experiencing symptoms again, "close to being diagnosed with PTSD or something similar".

The manager outlined details of support on offer and responded that the symptoms might be a reason why Wickham's work had been falling behind.

At the same time, the manager had set him three training tasks with a deadline of June, but did not make it clear that these would be a final review.

In April 2021, an occupational health report found that his symptoms "undoubtedly" affected his performance.

However, the tribunal saw evidence of memos between managers describing these as "excuses for why tasks haven't been completed".

There was no mention or acknowledgement of his health issues by managers, who discussed "getting the ball rolling" on finding Wickham an alternative role.

He was signed off with depression in late June, and in August he was told by video call that he had failed his training assessment period.

Wickham became angry during the meeting and said he had been "considered a problem" since disclosing his mental health issues.

He explained that he had disclosed his issues during the recruitment process and was seeking legal advice. The tribunal later found this disclosure to have been a protected act for the purposes of his victimisation claim.

Rockett launched a formal grievance against Wickham, accusing him of lying, despite OH records showing he had disclosed his health issues the whole time.

Wickham was investigated for potential gross misconduct and given a formal written warning, which was later overturned after he appealed.

The tribunal found that senior staff working at the FIS colluded to "dig the dirt" on Wickham.

The panel noted that his mental health deteriorated after the discriminatory treatment began, with the remedy hearing, describing this as "one of the most shocking cases of systemic bullying and discrimination" it had seen.

"The impact of the discrimination on the claimant has been profound," it ruled.

Employment Judge Moore added that HMRC knew, or should reasonably have known, that Wickham was placed at substantial disadvantage by his disability, and that the decision to fail his training assessment was premature.

Wickham's claims for failure to make reasonable adjustments, disability-related harassment and victimisation were upheld.

He was awarded a total of £155,077, including £77,193 for past financial losses plus interest (£16,684); and £42,000 for injury to feelings plus interest (£19,200).