A woman who was left disabled by a car crash has won a £17,000 payout after she lodged a harassment claim against a colleague who made a 'Stephen Hawking joke'. Alison McRobbie, who worked for the Department for Work and Pensions as a work coach, had been showing off a new office chair designed to make her feel more comfortable to fellow staff member Josie Hooper. But to her shock, her co-worker proceeded to sit in it and make an 'unflattering' comparison to the world famous physicist - who was confined to a wheelchair for the vast majority of his adult life - while 'spinning round in it' and 'laughing'.
The employment tribunal heard how 'very sensitive' Ms McRobbie may have 'misunderstood' the incident, but ruled that Ms Hooper had harassed her by 'drawing particular attention' to her disability. The work coach, who is now a 'social media influencer' on TikTok with 76,000 followers, successfully sued the DWP and won £17,280 in compensation from the government. However, Miss McRobbie will have to pay the DWP £10,912 after the tribunal ruled she must pay the government organisation's costs because she had behaved 'unreasonably' during proceedings.
Background of the Incident
The tribunal, held in Southampton, Hampshire, had heard Miss McRobbie started working for the DWP in its Universal Credit department in June 2021. The work coach suffered from arthritis and crepitus - cracking joints - in her right knee, right hand, and to her neck following a traffic accident in 2017. The event also gave the woman PTSD, which she was diagnosed with in April 2022. Upon starting work, Miss McRobbie asked for some 'reasonable adjustments' to be made to the physical work place in terms of her desk and her chair. She said the current seat she had was too low and had no neck support, causing pain and affecting her back, it was heard.
The Chair Incident
While Miss McRobbie was working from home, she was told a chair with a high back and a headrest had been requested. After lengthy delays, the furniture was delivered and installed on October 12, 2022. Some 10 days later, Miss McRobbie was in the office and invited her colleague Ms Hooper over to take a look at it because she was 'genuinely pleased' with her chair. It was then that Miss McRobbie alleged that Ms Hooper - who was said to be 'impressed' by the office furniture - discriminated against her. She alleged that Ms Hooper sat on the chair, compared it to Stephen Hawking's, before 'making faces and gesticulating'.
Referring to Miss McRobbie's witness statement, Employment Judge Catherine Rayner said: 'She said that a colleague sat in her chair spinning round in it, laughing and saying I was going to look like Stephen Hawking in this chair. She then made gestures mimicking Mr Hawking's disabled posture.' Ms Hooper told the tribunal that she 'did not remember the events very well' and could 'not definitely say that she had not made the comments'.
Tribunal Findings
While the tribunal ruled that on the balance of probabilities that Miss Hooper 'did make a comment' about Hawking, they said she 'did not make facial gesture and did not mimic a disabled person' and added that Miss McRobbie's account was 'exaggerated'. Employment Judge Catherine Rayner said: 'However we also recognise that in terms of appearance, a comparison between how he looked and how another person might look when using [Miss McRobbie's] chair, was not flattering or complimentary. [We] find that she was upset at the time and that part of the reason for her upset was a comment linking her chair with Stephen Hawking. We find it was unwanted and that it was related to her disability.'
After 'a serious breakdown in the relationship' between Miss McRobbie and the DWP, she was dismissed for alleged gross misconduct and stopped work in November last year. She took the government department to the tribunal claiming discrimination, unfair dismissal and harassment. The tribunal upheld the claim of harassment in relation to the Stephen Hawking comment.
Compensation and Costs
The tribunal described Miss McRobbie as an 'intelligent woman' who is an 'enthusiastic user of social media and posts content about many matters, as well as having some significant following as what she describes as a social media influencer'. Upholding her claims, the judge said: 'We have taken into account as set out above that [Miss McRobbie] had not been into the office for some time that she was known to be a person who was very sensitive and also that the comment itself drew particular attention to [her] disability. Whilst we all agree that most people would not find this to be offensive, we accept that it is reasonable for it to be treated as harassment in this case and we therefore find that [Miss McRobbie] was harassed.'
She also won a claim that the DWP had failed to make reasonable adjustments for her disability. Other claims made by Miss McRobbie, who represented herself during the proceedings, were dismissed. The government has been ordered to pay the worker £17,280 because of the injury to her feelings. However, the DWP has also made an order of costs against Miss McRobbie, who will herself have to pay £10,912. This is to pay 'towards the costs that were incurred as a result of her culpable conduct' as she was found to have been 'unreasonable and in some places dishonest' during the proceedings. This included exaggerating about her colleague doing an impression of Stephen Hawking. The tribunal still did not conclude that 'the case was itself unreasonable or misconceived', making Miss McRobbie's take-home compensation after paying costs £6,368.
