Case Studies
Helping an employee to manage the weight of an unjust disciplinary process
Published 09 July 2025
The combination of a funeral director and exchange of ‘fat jibes’ certainly made for a memorable call for help that we had to deal with.
Janice was suspended from work after joking a female colleague’s lunch would not help her to lose weight - but give her a lot more to moan about.
The comment drew laughter from two male colleagues present in the room at the time. The employee responded with a joke about Janice’s weight, which also drew laughter.
The problem for Janice was that her colleague had returned from maternity leave a couple of months earlier. She had repeatedly expressed her unhappiness at the weight gain after giving birth.
Janice took the exchange between the pair as typical banter and part of the dark humour shared between staff at the independent funeral director business where she had worked for eight years.
Shortly after the verbal exchange Janice’s work colleague went off on long-term sick leave, the reason for the absence was unknown at the time.
About three months later Janice was summoned to her manager’s office. She was told her colleague had resigned as a result of the comment she had made.
Janice was informed her former workmate was pursuing a claim for constructive dismissal and discrimination related to her pregnancy. It was made clear to Janice that she was to blame.
When Janice attended a fact-finding meeting as part of the disciplinary investigation, she admitted making the comment but insisted it was only a joke and others had said far worse.
During the meeting it was revealed, the former employee was claiming she had been subjected to a bullying campaign by staff which included a series of ‘fat jibes’ after she returned to work after maternity leave.
Janice was eventually invited to attend a disciplinary hearing to face allegations of bullying and discrimination.
Worried Janice contacted our Employee Support Centre to request one of our experienced trade union representatives act as her companion at the hearing.
Janice provided him with the evidence to support the allegations, which included a statement from her former colleague making clear she had been bullied by several members of staff. However, Janice was the only one facing formal disciplinary action.
Our trade union representative discussed with Janice the idea of raising a grievance based on the fact she was being singled out and treated unfairly, as the only one to be facing disciplinary action.
However, she was keen not to delay the process, wanted to respond to the allegations and explain her case as quickly as possible.
Janice had informed our trade union representative about a culture of banter in the workplace that included her facing similar comments to those she made to her colleague, and management also being involved in making comparable comments.
Prior to the disciplinary hearing, our trade union representative requested a number of employees attend the meeting as witnesses in accordance with section 12 of the ACAS Code of Practice.
Those members of staff supported what Janice had said about the culture of banter, when questioned by our trade union representative.
He used this to argue taking disciplinary action against Janice was grossly unfair in the circumstances.
This included him telling the hearing Janice was being treated unreasonably for a comment that was part of the usual, established and accepted workplace culture that everyone, including managers that should lead by example, took part in.
Our trade union representative made the point that many others had said similar things, and Janice herself had been targeted in the same way. He added that the employer had never made it clear that such comments were wrong, so she could not reasonably know that she was doing anything unacceptable.
He was strong in his assertion Janice was unfairly singled out when others were evidently also involved, and no proper guidance was ever given.
Our trade union representative presented a comprehensive argument of Janice’s case, which did eventually lead to her being cleared of the allegations.
