Mrs Rouse was employed in 2017 as a cleaning company manager for the Respondent, Andron. She suffered a heart attack in July 2019.
She was then signed off work for three months to recuperate. However, in September 2019, she received a letter from her employer informing her that she was at risk of redundancy.
The letter also contained a proposal that Mrs Rouse take up a new role on a reduced salary, which would require her to undertake heavy lifting, a role which would be medically inadvisable due to her heart condition.
Over the following months of her employment, there was a disorganised and drawn-out redundancy process. Consultation meetings were scheduled and cancelled several times, and Mrs Rouse was not updated on the risk of redundancy.
In October 2019, she filed a grievance complaining that the business had ignored her illness and the heightened need for her to avoid stress because of her heart problems.
As Mrs Rouse readied herself for a return to work, Andron failed to take her health problems seriously.
Despite the doctor ordering her to drive no more than four hours a day, her workload increased, and she was required to drive for 8 hours per day. They also failed to progress an occupational health referral.
Doctors told Mrs Rouse in January 2020 that she required a possibly life-saving operation to insert a defibrillator, which would mean potentially having to stop driving for anywhere between six months and two years.
When the manager in charge of her redundancy process heard this, they told her, "F***, f***, f***, how are you going to do your job?".
Mrs Rouse resigned in February 2020, bringing a range of claims to the employment tribunal and complaining that her employer had not taken her health seriously and continued to pressure her, putting her health at risk.