Epileptic prison officer wins £440k payout after unfair dismissal

A PRISON officer who was unfairly dismissed weeks after an epilepsy diagnosis has won a payout of more than £440,000.

- By POPPY KENNEDY

Mr A Mullinger was placed on restricted duties at HMP Holme House, in Stockton, after telling bosses about his condition but, within two months, he was dismissed.

Now, tribunal judges have found that the prison’s governor sought to use the claimant's history of sickness absence to justify dismissing the officer instead of making adjustments. The Ministry of Justice was ordered to pay a total of £444,959.76.

Employment tribunal documents, published online, outline how Mr Mullinger had a seizure in November 2022 while on annual leave. Two months later, in January 2023, he was diagnosed with epilepsy and prescribed medication.

The tribunal heard that at the time of Mr Mullinger’s diagnosis, Holme House was experiencing very high levels of sickness absence and had a very high level of individuals on restricted duties. Consequently, the governor was under pressure to reduce those numbers.

When Mr Mullinger told his line manager about his epilepsy, on the day of his diagnosis, she told him he should be placed on restricted duties, which meant he should not have prisoner-facing duties or access to keys, and should not work alone or at night.

The officer, who was employed from March 2019, had two meetings with occupational health advisors.