A smart meter engineer who approached his boss for support over changes to his working day had his concerns 'turned against him' in an act of disability-related harassment, a tribunal has ruled.
The worker, whose duties sometimes took him to Cumbria, was anxious about new rules governing his working day.
But his manager emailed him suggesting he intended to disregard the rules, copying in another manager and a member of human resources.
Smart Choice Metering Limited has been ordered to pay £2,500, plus interest, for injury to feelings.
'Confidence had been betrayed'
The Glasgow employment tribunal heard the engineer installed gas and electricity smart meters, principally across central Scotland.
He returned to work in November 2024 after an extended absence involving a road accident, paternity leave and annual leave.
During retraining, he learned that lunch breaks had to be taken between noon and 2pm.
Worried the restrictions would make it harder to complete jobs and get home, he telephoned his manager to explain his anxiety and ask whether he could move to another contract.
The manager appeared sympathetic and agreed to consider his request, the tribunal found.
But the following morning he emailed the engineer, asking him to confirm whether he had said he would instead take his lunch break at 4pm.
The worker had not said he would disobey the rule.
The judgment said: "The claimant had gone to Mr Wilson with a genuine concern, in confidence, and seeking support.
"He had asked for help, for example by being moved to another contract."
Instead, the email focused on one part of their conversation, portraying it 'as an advance admission by the claimant that he would not comply with the new rules'.
The tribunal said: "His intention was clearly to warn the claimant that disciplinary action could follow.
"No support was provided in the email or around the time.
"The claimant justifiably felt that his confidence had been betrayed and that his misgivings had been turned against him."
It concluded the manager had engaged in unwanted conduct 'which in its effect violated his dignity and created an intimidating and humiliating environment for him'.
The tribunal accepted that the engineer's long-standing anxiety amounted to a disability under the Equality Act 2010 and that the manager's treatment was related to that disability.
However, it also found the employer did not know, and could not reasonably have been expected to know, that his anxiety amounted to a disability.
Dismissal ruled fair
The tribunal separately examined the engineer's dismissal in April 2025 and his allegations that he had lost his job for raising safety concerns.
He had warned that excessive workloads and time pressure could lead to serious errors when fitting meters, potentially endangering customers.
Such errors could include Category 1 defects, the most serious classification, carrying a risk of harm to people or property.
The tribunal found that three of his four alleged disclosures qualified for whistleblowing protection.
It said: "If he was correct that engineers were working to time pressures which ranged from demanding to simply not possible without rushing or working beyond scheduled hours, day in and day out, then it was reasonable for him to believe that at some point a dangerous error could be made."
But it stressed that it had not found the company's working practices were dangerous or placed customers at an unduly high level of risk.
Two Category 1 defects were subsequently discovered in installations completed by the engineer, for which he accepted responsibility.
Smart Choice Metering issued a final written warning rather than dismiss him for gross misconduct. However, its client refused to let him return to the contract.
No suitable alternative role could be found, and he was dismissed.
The tribunal rejected his complaints of unfair dismissal, automatically unfair dismissal for whistleblowing and discrimination arising from disability.
It found that his disclosures had not caused his dismissal, and that the company had reasonably explored alternatives after its client refused to accept him back.
The only successful complaint concerned the manager's email.
The tribunal described it as a single act that was 'not particularly aggressive or offensive', but accepted the engineer had felt 'betrayed, intimidated and humiliated'.
It awarded £2,500 in compensation for injury to feelings, together with interest.
Smart Choice Metering's operational head office is based in Manchester, though it's registered office is at Fleetwood Town Football Club.
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