Apprentice awarded £52,000 for victimisation and disability discrimination

An apprentice digital media executive has been awarded more than £52,000 for victimisation and discrimination because she has dyscalculia, meaning she struggles with maths.

Sophie Molyneux worked for Apprentify, a company that sources apprenticeships, and was asked to take a mock maths test two months before her compulsory exam.

Molyneux told the tribunal that she found this unfair due to her dyscalculia. She had not tried sitting a maths exam since her GCSEs some years before, and had an additional learning support plan that explained her specific needs.

At the time, she was receiving ongoing maths support from a functional skills tutor, who was preparing her for her final maths exam.

She took the mock test in June 2022 and failed, telling the tribunal that on reasonable adjustments were offered to reduce her disadvantage.

Soon after the test, in July 2022, Molyneux reported allegations of sexual harassment, but a few weeks later was dismissed, with her failure in the maths exam cited as the reason. She had been due to complete her apprenticeship in September 2022.

The tribunal heard that in her view, she had been dismissed because she was seen as a “troublemaker” and due to her disabilities. She also had a history of anxiety and depression.

When deciding on compensation, the tribunal found that no proper disciplinary process was followed during her dismissal, and that she had been victimised for making a protected disclosure in the form of the sexual harassment allegations.

Employment Judge Rhodri McDonald said her dismissal was “significantly influenced” by her allegation of sexual harassment, and that “the impact of the dismissal was to completely undermine [her] self-confidence”.

Her claims for victimisation and disability discrimination were upheld, and she was awarded a total of £52,348 in damages, including £20,000 for injury to feelings.

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