An ‘overweight’ police officer embroiled in a long-running dispute with Surrey Police has lost her case after an Employment Tribunal found that she had not been discriminated against or forced out of work.
Ms Rebecca Tiffin told an Employment Tribunal that she had been “over-scrutinised” by her employer after repeatedly failing an Annual Fitness Assessment (AFA) – a standard procedure also known as a ‘bleep test’ which is used to measure officers’ fitness and capability.
She added that she had felt under pressure to resign from her position after failing the test on multiple occasions.
Reading Employment Tribunal heard that Ms Tiffin – who has an under-active thyroid gland and a number of other health issues – had allegedly been discriminated against on grounds of both disability and sex.
However, Judge Stephen Vowles dismissed her claims, finding that Ms Tiffin had been subjected to the same standard checks as any other police officer.
In a written judgment, he concluded that Surrey Police had not discriminated against or harassed her in relation to either a disability, or to her gender.
He said: “The requirement to pass the Annual Fitness Assessment applied to all operational officers within Surrey Police and eventually nationally was a necessary requirement for safety and operational reasons.
“The claimant was not ‘forced’ to resign,” he added.
“That was her choice and done at least in part because she had secured alternative employment which suited her.”