Ex-JSPCA animal ambulance driver claims £200 for “injury to feelings”

Monday 30 July 2018

A former animal ambulance driver has been awarded £200 compensation after claiming the JSPCA boss caused “hurt and distress” by saying she was “holding a gun” to his head.

The Employment and Discrimination Tribunal made the decision last week after hearing the case of Ms Erin Bisson, who was employed by the animal charity for nearly a decade before being dismissed.

She brought over 10 claims against three members of JSPCA staff, who she felt had treated her differently for being transgender but only succeeded in one: an allegation of being victimised by Chief Executive Charles Gruchy.

His comments were said to have come in a telephone call following a fraught few months in which the relationship with Ms Bisson had become increasingly “pressurised.”

Pictured: Ms Bisson was an animal ambulance driver for the JSPCA, and later took on other roles, including helping at the crematorium.

The Tribunal heard that Mr Gruchy told staff they could contact him on his mobile – day or night – in an attempt to calm concerns raised by the former CEO’s sudden departure in June 2017 and the charity’s “precarious financial situation”.

During a period of sick leave in August, Ms Bisson, who lived in subsidised JSPCA accommodation, was said to have repeatedly contacted Mr Gruchy, raising 10 grievances in total, including an accusation that she was unfairly denied sick pay. 

The Tribunal were told that one call in particular revolving around the issue of paying more rent “did not go well, so much so that Mr. Gruchy, who has health issues, informed the Claimant he may have to stop speaking has he was suffering from a bout of Atrial Fibrillation, a bout that was so serious if he was standing up… he would have fallen over. “ 

Despite his lack of recollection, the Tribunal found that Mr Gruchy told Ms Bisson it was “time to pay” more for her accommodation and accused her of “making him ill” and “holding a gun to his head” in relation to the impending litigation.

Claims were brought in respect of all phrases, but Tribunal Deputy Chairman Michael Salter, presiding, only felt that the latter amounted to “victimisation”.

Discrimination was not found to have played a part in the JSPCA’s decision not to award sick pay or in being sent a memo, which Ms Bisson said “smacked of arrogance”, reminding her to log which animals had been cremated and when. Instead, the Tribunal concluded that both instances were linked with the “serious” financial strain on the charity.

Ex-Deputy and former JSPCA President Sean Power admitted to have misgendered Ms Bisson, but the Tribunal panel were satisfied this was “accidental and not born from any hostile motive” and accepted that he had apologised immediately and profusely to her. 

A lack of wording about Ms Bisson’s right to appeal in her dismissal letter was taken more seriously, however, described as a “shocking omission that caused the Tribunal very real concerns.”

“The right of appeal is widely recognised as a fundamental element of a fair procedure, and we have not heard any evidence from the Respondent that they considered such a process futile or hopeless, therefore permitting them to ignore the step… It was only when the Claimant requested an appeal that one was granted. Its importance is probably even more heightened when the dismissal itself was done without a meeting,” Mr Salter explained.

However, due to the quality of the appeal that was eventually held, the key claim for unfair dismissal was not upheld.

“We cannot emphasize just how seriously the tribunal took this omission of the appeal, and how close the Respondent came to being found to have unfairly dismissed the Claimant; if it were not for the high standard of the appeal that ultimately was conducted the Respondent’s procedure, we feel, could be found to fall outside the band of reasonable responses,” Mr Salter added. 

In making a compensation order, he declined to follow UK precedent, which saw awards for “injury to feelings” set at up to four times the total amount the Jersey Tribunal are permitted to give out for discrimination. 

“That said, the award should not be too low as to undermine the protection against discrimination,” Mr Salter concluded.

Ms Bisson was subsequently awarded £200 as “compensation for hurt and distress.”