MoD worker called ‘clever woman’ loses sex discrimination claim

A civil servant who was called a ‘clever woman’ by a colleague has lost her tribunal claim for sex discrimination.

Christine Rodgers launched her claim against the Ministry of Defence after a senior Army officer had remarked that she was “a clever woman”, but added that she could be “manipulative”.

She told the tribunal how the officer, Lieutenant Colonel Simon Watkins of the MoD’s School of Transport, had accused her of having “a problem with robust banter” and that she “didn’t like men”.

Although her claims for sex discrimination were not upheld, she won a case for unfair dismissal and will receive compensation from the Ministry of Defence.

The tribunal heard that prior to her dismissal, Rodgers was being managed remotely due to the pandemic and had been asked to attend an informal misconduct meeting. Around the same time, she had applied for a transfer to Northern Ireland to care for her sick mother but had been told that this role had been filled.

She refused to attend this meeting, and the meeting was converted into a formal misconduct hearing. There had also been concerns she had not kept up to date with essential training, and an investigation into bullying allegations by another colleague.

In the judgment, it was suggested that Cl Watkins’ opinion of Rodgers was that “she resented being managed and held to account, particularly by younger female members of staff and males”.

Alongside emails presented as evidence, Rodgers was also accused of using “emotive language such as feeling betrayed, under attack from three sides, not being treated fairly and information being used as a weapon against her”, something Employment Judge Lancaster described as examples of her “hypersensitivity”.

Judge Lancaster added regarding the “clever woman” comment, “he need not have referred to her as a woman but in doing so again it is quite evident that he did not intend any adverse effect upon her related to her sex.

“And equally, viewed objectively, it cannot reasonably be construed as creating an unwanted environment for her.”

The claim for unfair dismissal was upheld because Rodgers had not been explicitly told what “bullying” she had been accused of, was not given a chance to address concerns, was subjected to investigation delays, and her case was not fully considered.

Her compensation for unfair dismissal will be decided at a future date.

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