Essex County Council must pay a former employee almost £154,000 after it failed to take her complaints of bullying seriously and was found guilty of constructive unfair dismissal.

Social worker Nicola Griffiths complained her managers in the Mid Family Support and Protection team, in particular, that they had made unfounded allegations about her work, “bullied” her and “behaved maliciously” towards her. 

Complaints were made about the way she did her job – including that she had an “overly challenging approach and that she had caused families to leave the room in tears, stating that they never wanted to work with her again”.

But the records showed there had been no dissatisfactions or complaints raised against Ms Griffiths since 2015.

When she appealed to the council, her case was dismissed during a grievance process.

Ms Griffiths, who had worked in various teams in the Children and Families Service since 2004, resigned in 2020 and took her case to an employment tribunal.

Employment Judge Jones ruled in favour of a constructive unfair dismissal claim, as well as one for disability discrimination, surrounding issues with Ms Griffiths’ mental health.

The tribunal concluded that she resigned because she believed that she could not trust the council, given that there had been no sanctions applied to “those who had made unfounded complaints against her and refused to accept that they were so”.

The hearing concluded: “It is our judgment that the claimant’s contract had been breached fundamentally by the respondent’s conduct.”

A spokesman for Essex County Council said: “We take on board the guidance and recommendations made by this Employment Tribunal judgment.

“Essex County Council strives to comply with equality and employment requirements. We take these obligations and the continued learning very seriously.”