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A care worker who had a job offer rescinded after revealing she had breast cancer has won a payout of nearly £17,000 in a disability discrimination case.
Lana Harber was told that the company’s director would find it too “emotional” to employ her because her mother had recently died from cancer, an employment tribunal heard.
The care support company then claimed that this was not true and gave other explanations why it was retracting the offer.
An employment tribunal judge found that the director’s “very personal explanation” demonstrated that the true reason was the breast cancer diagnosis.
Ms Harber has been awarded £16,732, which The Intrinsic Care Group must pay her.
On its website, the Kent-based company listed one of its “core values” as: “When we promise something, we don’t let people down.”
The tribunal, held in London, heard Ms Harber was offered the role of service manager at The Intrinsic Care Group after an interview in April 2023.
She told the HR manager after receiving the offer that she had been diagnosed with cancer in January that year.
Ms Harber had surgery in March, was on hormone treatment, and was about to start radiotherapy, which would last until July.
She explained that she would need some time off for appointments.
‘Unable to continue with offer of employment’
Ms Harber signed her employment contract at the end of May, but in June she was told by email that the company was “unable to continue with your offer of employment for the service manager position”.
The email noted that the director had “recently had a baby and lost her mother to cancer, and feels she will struggle emotionally to support” Ms Harber in her role.
The tribunal heard that the company also raised concerns that the “pressured and fast-paced” nature of the role would be a struggle for “a cancer sufferer having undergone recent radiotherapy and hormone treatment”.
The director’s personal assistant claimed that there were no concerns about Ms Harber’s ability to work, and that the decision had been made because of internal restructuring.
They said that the decision had been made a month prior, adding: “I am really concerned that you were only informed last week. This really concerns me dearly.”
Two more explanations for the withdrawal of the job offer were subsequently given by The Intrinsic Care Group.
‘Added insult to injury’
Anna Corrigan, an employment judge, found that the company’s explanations conflicted with each other.
She said: “I agreed that the withdrawal of the offer amounted to direct disability discrimination as the job was withdrawn because of the diagnosis of breast cancer itself.
“This is apparent from the very personal explanation about the director’s concerns due to her own experiences.”
The judge noted that the company had not discussed with Ms Harber how time off for appointments could be accommodated.
“The treatment exacerbated the difficult situation she was already in, dealing with cancer,” the judge said.
“[The Intrinsic Care Group] added insult to injury by turning it into a criticism of her in their later explanations.”
Ms Harber was able to find another job by July 2023.
