A mother who claims a cosmetic company sacked her because she has multiple sclerosis broke down in tears as she told an employment tribunal she was scared she would not get the job because of it.
Zoe Lucas, 43, described her manager at Cosmeceuticals, Sarah Deacon, as “demeaning and patronising” about her disability and said she told her “we all get tired, hun”.
She wept as she told the hearing: “This is the first time I had gone for a job since I had been diagnosed. I was really scared I wouldn’t get the job because I had a disability.”
Miss Lucas claims she was forced to take unpaid sick days when she could not take a training course but wanted to work from home.
The former business development manager alleges that the day after asking for time off for a medical appointment, the director of the company contacted HR to inquire about terminating her contract.
At an employment tribunal in Glasgow, Miss Lucas, from Dunfermline, Fife, is claiming that she was sacked because of her disability in August 2017 by the Essex-based company, which trades as Skinbrands.
The firm supplies skincare, hair and make-up products to the beauty and medical industry.
The company denies the claim and says it dismissed her because she was not meeting targets and did not pass her probation.
Miss Lucas, who is represented by Margaret Gribbon, and staff at Cosmecuticals, who are represented by barrister James Dawson, submitted written statements ahead of the hearing.
In her statement Miss Lucas said: “It’s my belief that the catalyst for my dismissal was my disability and requests to take time off to attend MS-related medical appointments.”
She also said: “I did not like to mention my MS to Sarah Deacon but on the very very few occasions I did she was demeaning and patronising”.
The single mother-of-one who is a qualified beauty therapist and has worked in London on various television shows, was hired as a business development manager in March 2017 to work in Scotland and the north-east of England.
She was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in May 2015 and takes an immune suppressing drug that causes “brain fog” and other debilitating side effects. Miss Lucas must have a blood count taken every three months to check for inflammation on the brain.
In her statement she explained that she told the director of the company Amanda Coveney and national sales manager – who was her line manager – Ms Deacon of her disability when she was offered the job.
She claimed: “From the outset I found Sarah Deacon to be rude and hostile.
She would routinely pick fault with whatever I did. Sarah Deacon intimidated me which meant I was always very nervous around her and in time I became quite frightened of her.”
Miss Lucas said she was “dumbstruck” when she was sacked during a meeting in Essex.
The tribunal before employment judge Sandy Meiklejohn continues.
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