An overworked veterinary surgeon has won more than £12,000 after she was forced to work through her lunch breaks.
Michelle Beckett began to suffer from burnout after having to work “long hours” and “busy days without lunch breaks”, an employment tribunal heard.
The dedicated vet took unpaid overtime because there was a “below standard of animal care” at the vets she worked at, but it resulted in her being signed off work with stress.
On her return, she was still required to work through her lunch breaks even though an occupational health report said that the working conditions had caused her mental health issues.
Her manager even brought her own dog in to be treated by Ms Beckett out of hours, then complained that Ms Beckett had raised concerns about it.
After the manager tried to take disciplinary action against her for this and other issues, Ms Beckett resigned.
Ms Beckett’s claims for unfair constructive dismissal and unlawful deductions from wages were successful. She has now been awarded £12,758 compensation.
The employment tribunal, held virtually, heard Ms Beckett worked for corporate veterinary group CVS from September 2020.
Ms Beckett worked as a veterinary surgeon at Pet Doctors in Chichester, mostly at its surgery in Felpham, both West Sussex.
The tribunal heard: “From the commencement of her employment with [CVS, Ms Beckett] worked long hours and had busy days without lunch breaks.
“She undertook unpaid overtime as and when necessary.”
In October 2023, she told the surgery’s management that she had witnessed “below standard animal care”, and that there was a “toxic environment” because of “differences between receptionists and the professional staff”.
She didn’t feel that her concerns were taken seriously, and her mental health suffered as a result.
Ms Beckett was signed off work with “burnout/work-related stress” by her doctor in January 2024.
Before her return to work in March 2024, she told her line manager in a letter that the problems she had witnessed at the surgery had led to her suffering mental health issues.
An occupational health report carried out around this time found: “In my medical opinion, Michelle’s health and wellbeing, particularly her history of work-related stress and depression, could contribute to mood fluctuations and occasional perceived uncivil behaviour towards colleagues.
“It is important to consider these factors as they can impact her interactions at work.”
The report suggested ways that Ms Beckett’s wellbeing could be supported at work. However, despite returning on a “phased” basis, she felt she was “still working under stress and not able to take her lunch breaks due to the pressure that she was under”.
In April, the practice director Lucy Millett contacted Ms Beckett before work started to ask her to help her own dog, and Ms Beckett continued answering Ms Millett’s questions until 8pm that day in addition to her usual work. This meant she worked more than 10 hours with no lunch break during her “phased return”.
The following month, she was told that she was being invited to a meeting that was about Ms Millett becoming her line manager. However, it was actually an “informal disciplinary meeting” and Ms Millett made complaints and allegations about Ms Beckett’s behaviour.
She complained about having to deal with Ms Beckett’s ”concerns”, as well as the stress of her dog’s illness when she took it in to be treated. Ms Millett also alleged that Ms Beckett spoke to colleagues in an “uncivil way”, which made Ms Beckett “very distressed and upset”.
At the tribunal, Ms Millett admitted that she had not read the occupational health report, which explained how Ms Beckett’s health issues might impact her interactions with colleagues. In a record of the meeting, Ms Millett wrote that “sometimes when [Ms Beckett is] stressed [her] tone coming across [as] impatient, bordering on aggressive”.
In July 2024, Ms Beckett resigned, saying that the disciplinary action taken against her was a breach of the company’s duty of care towards her.
CVS tried to get her to retract her resignation, but she did not, and she made a complaint the following month that was dismissed by the company.
The employment tribunal panel found that CVS breached its own procedures in pursuing disciplinary action against Ms Beckett. The panel said: “I find that given this fundamental breach, [CVS] continued in its unreasonable conduct by breaching the implied term of trust and confidence by proceeding with the informal disciplinary meeting on 21 May 2024, causing [Ms Beckett] extreme distress and upset, especially in the circumstances that [CVS] was aware of her recent work-related sickness absence.”
Her former employer admitted during the hearing that her claim for unlawful deductions from wages had been proved. She has worked as a self-employed locum veterinary surgeon since her resignation from CVS.
