A woman from County Durham has been awarded £10,000 in damages after an employment tribunal ruled that she was discriminated by her employer.

61-year-old Barbara Passmore had been working for the National Probation Service (NPS) for 25 years, initially as a full-time member of staff and then in a part time role. In November 2014 she gave notice to her employer, but later asked whether this could be rescinded and if she could apply for an ill health pension. The request for an ill health pension was rejected by the NPS.

“My employer couldn’t have cared less about my situation, even though I’d worked there since the 1980s"

Barbara, Thompsons' employment law client

Barbara also requested that she work locally to Durham as driving exacerbated her osteo-arthritic condition and caused pain in her neck. However, following her request to withdraw her resignation, her employer told her that she would have to work 18 miles away in Hartlepool. Barbara was the only staff member asked to relocate.

After two months of working in Hartlepool, the pain caused by driving her commute forced her to take sick leave. She never returned to the job.

Barbara instructed employment rights specialists, Thompsons Solicitors, to investigate a claim. An employment tribunal found that she was treated less favourably on the grounds of her disability and part-time employment status, and that the NPS failed to investigate options to support her retrospective application for pension.

She said: “My employer couldn’t have cared less about my situation, even though I’d worked there since the 1980s. As I approached retirement age I was looking to wind down, so having to drive more than 35 miles a day to Hartlepool was not sustainable for me especially because of my condition.

“Having the backing of Thompsons was crucial in getting acknowledgement from my employer that it had discriminated against me. Without their support, I don’t think I would have been able to take the NPS on.”

Paul Shevlin, of Thompsons Solicitors, said: “Anti-discrimination legislation is in place for a reason. In this case, the NPS flouted its responsibility which has proved to be a costly mistake.

“Barbara’s final few months at work caused her a great deal of grief so we were happy to prove that her employer mistreated her and secure compensation.  The Employment Tribunal also made a recommendation that NPS should make its Durham and Cleveland managers aware of anti-discrimination legislation. This was particularly important to Barbara as she wanted to ensure that this did not happen to anyone else.”