In Miss S Croly v Kelly Ann Smith Sandy Croly was employed as a personal care assistant from 18 May 2019 until 28 July 2019 when she was dismissed with immediate effect. Ms Smith is paralysed from the chest down and requires care 24 hours a day. Miss Croly was one of five Personal Care Assistants employed by Ms Smith, and her work involved washing the respondent, assisting with toileting, dressing, administering cream and medication, shopping, household chores and looking after Ms Smith’s children. At the time of the Miss Croly’s employment Ms Smith lived alone with her two children who were aged nine and eleven.
Miss Croly enjoyed her work very much and described it as her ‘perfect job’. She had very sadly lost her own child in 2017 and looking after the Ms Smith’s children helped her with her mourning. She informed Ms Smith, when she was interviewed for the role, that she had lost a child and was suffering from PTSD and anxiety as a result.
Miss Croly describes herself as black and was the only black Personal Care Assistant working for the respondent. The other Personal Care Assistants made her feel very unwelcome. They excluded her from WhatsApp chats, didn’t involve her in their conversations, and excluded her. They made snide comments about her and gave her ‘dirty looks’.
A few days before her employment was terminated, Miss Croly told Ms Smith that she was pregnant. Her previous pregnancy had resulted in a premature birth and the subsequent death of her daughter. Her pregnancy was therefore considered to be high risk, and she was understandably anxious about it, not wanting to do anything that may put her unborn child at risk.
As part of her role she was required to help Ms Smith get in and out of bed. Ms Smith had a hoist to lift her in and out of bed but refused to use it. On one occasion, shortly before the end of Miss Croly’s employment, Ms Smith asked Miss Croly to lift her up her bed. Ms Smith is much bigger than Miss Croly, and when she said that she could not lift her because she was pregnant, and that Ms Smith was too heavy for her to lift, Ms Smith replied that if she would not lift her, there was ‘no point’ in her being there because she was ‘useless’.
Miss Croly lifted her on that occasion, because she needed the job. Leaving work that day she was bleeding. She was very anxious and contacted her GP, who signed her off work for 8 weeks. Ms Smith wouldn’t accept her fit note, stopped paying her, and sacked her by text – even claiming she wasn’t “that bad of a boss”.
The tribunal panel ruled that Miss Croly be awarded £24,432 for pregnancy discrimination and race discrimination.
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