Ayrshire bakery worker sacked for having anxiety awarded £13,000 in discrimination case

A bakery worker has been awarded thousands after a tribunal found she was discriminated against by her employer for having anxiety.

Ms LJ Ross brought a claim against Central Bakers Ltd, which included harassment under the Equality Act 2010.

After her former employers failed to appear at the tribunal to refute the claims, the tribunal judge awarded Ms Ross £13,444.59.

In February 2024, Ms Ross began working for Central Bakers at their Ardrossan premises as a member of the kitchen team.

The tribunal heard that Ms Ross has suffered from anxiety and panic disorders since July 2022 and takes the medication Citalopram on a daily basis.

According to the tribunal report, Ms Ross could be prone to up to three panic attacks per week, which could lose an hour at most.

This has a negative impact on her concentration and memory, as she struggles to do household chores and being in crowded places is difficult for her.

On September 4, 2025, Ms Ross was upset after an altercation with another employee at work and was signed off by her doctor the next day.

She informed her line manager and asked if someone could cover her shift.

During another conversation that day, Ms Ross informed her line manager that she had been signed off for four weeks because her “anxiety is sky high and work-related stress”.

On September 6, Ms Ross arranged for her doctor’s note to be taken into her workplace.

Two days later, Ms Ross received a Whatsapp message from her line manager accusing her of pretending to be ill in order to get days off for a holiday she previously asked for.

The message read: “Nothing wrong with the Sickline but it needs to be picked up and given to someone else. I’m not accepting it.

“You asked for a holiday and you couldn’t get it and I’ve had to talk to you about being late and eating stock constantly and your language in the shop and now you’re claiming a sick line covering the same week you asked for a holiday.

“You will get one week notice which is covered by SSP and your remaining holiday pay. Your P45 will be posted as soon as I get it.”

Following this, Ms Ross emailed her line manager seeking clarity on the end of her employment.

What followed was a similar email detailing the reasons for her dismissal, including constantly eating the food in the shop, timekeeping and the use of inappropriate language.

The line manager also questioned her condition and said: “You never made me aware of any issues at work”.

Ms Ross raised a formal grievance the next day and by September 15 her employment had been terminated.

She appealed the decision but this was dismissed.

It is noted in the tribunal that Ms Ross was “embarrassed and humiliated” at how she was treated.

The tribunal judge found that under the Equality Act 2010, Ms Ross is disabled due to her long-term anxiety and upheld the claims that she had been discriminated against and had been harassed.

The respondents did not appear before the tribunal to refute the claims made against them, which contributed to the judge’s finding for Ms Ross.

The employers also unreasonably failed to follow the ACAS code of practice because no investigation was carried out and Ms Ross wasn’t given an opportunity to respond before being fired.

Therefore, the judge awarded £6,723.98 for her financial losses with £259.38 interest and £6,000 for injury to feelings with £461.59 interest.

STV News reached out to Central Bakers Ltd for comment.