Thames Valley Police ex-officer wins £1.1m in discrimination case

A former police officer has been handed more than £1m in compensation after it was ruled she had been discriminated against.

Katrina Hibbert was a safeguarding sergeant with Thames Valley Police (TVP), working with victims of child sexual and drug exploitation in Cherwell and West Oxfordshire.

She had started a party and events business as a “positive outlet” to help her cope with the stress of her job, a tribunal heard.

But she resigned from the force after it withdrew permission for her to run the business while she was off sick, which a judge found to be “discrimination arising from her disability”.

An occupational health nurse had suggested taking up a hobby could improve Ms Hibbert’s mental wellbeing, the tribunal was told.

After getting business interest approval – which lets an employee pursue other lines of work outside their job – she began “creating and theming party tents”.

A doctor signed Ms Hibbert off with work-related stress in May 2019 after she learned a vulnerable young person she had been working with had died.

During her sick leave, her line manager, Insp Craig Entwistle, discovered she had been posting what he described as “upbeat and happy” content on her business’ Facebook page.

The force then removed Ms Hibbert’s business interest approval, telling her that running the business while off sick could be “impacting on [her] return”.

But Ms Hibbert warned taking away her “happy and creative distraction” was unlikely to promote a faster return to work.

TVP then started disciplinary proceedings against her for allegedly carrying on with her business, the tribunal heard.

In March 2020, Ms Hibbert resigned from TVP, adding she was “not mentally strong enough to battle through a gross misconduct”.

The proceedings later collapsed after it was found TVP had failed to follow the business interest appeal procedure.

TVP had failed to make reasonable adjustments and discriminated against Ms Hibbert by removing her business interest approval, the tribunal found.

It also concluded her resignation amounted to unlawful constructive discriminatory dismissal.

Ms Hibbert was awarded about £1,168,000, which included cash for future financial losses.

She said the way she had been treated by the police force had left her “completely mentally shattered”.

“If TVP had listened to me, and had treated me as the law requires, I would still be working for them in the career I loved,” she added.

Deputy Chief Constable Ben Snuggs said TVP was a fair employer and the force had since worked hard to ensure that all lessons had been “fully captured”.