Nurse wrongfully sacked after three hundred sick days, tribunal rules

A senior nurse who took three hundred sick days due to severe migraines and depression was wrongfully sacked, a tribunal has found.

The nurse's absences were related to disabilities, and the tribunal heard.

Hospital bosses dismissed Caroline McKenzie in Leicester following numerous warnings about her attendance.

However, the tribunal heard both migraines and depression/anxiety are considered disabilities.

A judge concluded she lost her job "at least partly" because of her disability-related absences.

In March, Employment Judge Saleem Ahmed oversaw the tribunal in which Ms McKenzie claimed her dismissal was due to disability discrimination, failure to make reasonable adjustments and unfair dismissal.

Official documents released this week show Ms McKenzie started working for University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust in November 2010 as a staff nurse.

She had two conditions - migraines and anxiety/depression - considered disabilities.

During her employment, the tribunal heard that Ms McKenzie suffered from "regular migraine attacks" that usually lasted for one to two days.

She struggled to control the illness despite using various medications.

The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust said the nurse stopped using the medication, which led to long-term absences.

The tribunal heard the stress of being the sole carer for her grandmother, who had dementia and cancer, and the use of PPE increased the regularity of her migraines.

Throughout her decade-long career that started in 2010, Ms McKenzie was cautioned about her absences on several occasions.

She was first given a written warning in 2013, and attendance targets were implemented in 2019.

Following a deterioration in her mental health, she had 70 days off at the end of 2019 before being called to a level three absence hearing.

She was finally dismissed in August 2020.

The University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust argued Ms McKenzie's absence record was not disability-related.

A representative told the tribunal the nurse withdrew from taking all her medication in October 2019, and they claimed this led to further long-term absence.

However, the judge said it was "quite clear" that the attendance warnings and eventual dismissal stemmed from disability-related absences.

He said Ms McKenzie's condition was "optimistic" at the time of her sacking, adding the long-term absences were "unlikely to be repeated".

In concluding the report, he said: "In all of the circumstances, we are satisfied that dismissal was not a proportionate response."

The parties will now attend a remedy hearing, which will decide what level of compensation will be paid to Ms McKenzie.

Clare Teeney, chief people officer at University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, said: "We will use the tribunal findings to improve our processes and consider how we can better support our colleagues in future."