A retired canoe polo athlete has been awarded nearly £150,000 in compensation after her employer summoned her to a meeting from Germany, only for her boss to fail to attend. Bethan Littlewood, 29, a gold medallist at the 2019 European Championships, drove back overnight from Germany to attend the meeting, but her manager was 'double booked' and elsewhere.
The employment tribunal in Cardiff heard that Littlewood worked as a personal trainer for Nuffield Health in Bridgend, Wales. In June 2022, she reported fitness manager Declan Morris for conducting a Ministry of Defence fitness test on someone with elevated blood pressure, which should not have been done. Morris reacted in a 'hostile manner' and later withheld three hours of pay per week from Littlewood.
Littlewood lodged a bullying grievance against Morris in October 2022, but it was not upheld. A customer later reported Morris for belittling her in front of them. In May 2023, Littlewood received a final written warning for allegedly claiming inflated pay, a decision upheld on appeal.
In September 2023, while Littlewood was in Germany for the Canoe Polo European Championships, her manager James Cheadle required her attendance at a meeting on 12 September. Despite being on sick leave, she drove back overnight to attend. Upon arrival, she discovered her boss was not present due to a double booking.
Littlewood resigned, calling the incident the 'last straw'. The tribunal found in her favour on claims of unfair dismissal, unauthorised deductions from wages, holiday pay, and detriment for making a protected disclosure. She was awarded £148,000 in compensation.
Speaking after the ruling, Littlewood said: 'It’s been a long time in the making... The craziest thing is, the whole time they were like ‘You haven’t got a case’.' Nuffield Health has not commented on the outcome.
