A hospital porter of 20 years who was sacked after refusing to wear a face mask during the Covid pandemic because it made him anxious has lost his claim for unfair dismissal and discrimination.
The claims of Graham Fordham, who was laid off by his employer, Compass Group, after being off work for nine months, were rejected by an employment tribunal, which found the company had acted lawfully.
During the Covid pandemic, staff in clinical settings such as Fordham, whose job as a night porter involved transporting patients and supplies, were required by the government to wear a mask.
In March 2021, a nurse at Northwick Park hospital in Harrow, north-west London, complained that Fordham was wearing his mask below his nose, Watford employment tribunal heard.
Fordham was spoken to by a manager, but he began to turn up to work without a mask and wearing an exemption badge.
Fordham was called in for a meeting where he informed the managers that wearing a mask made him feel anxious and that he felt he could not breathe.
Fordham said he was not able to wear a mask when moving patients around the wards because he “did not like things obstructing his face”. He had suffered from anxiety and depression since 2012, the tribunal was told.
The hospital’s position was that if an employee decided not to wear a mask they would not be allowed on site. Fordham was suspended with pay so he could be referred to occupational health.
He was invited to look at other roles within the hospital, the tribunal was told, but none were found to be suitable because they all required him to wear a mask.
After being suspended and signed off work for nine months, the tribunal heard, it was concluded that Fordham was unlikely to return to work and he was sacked in December 2021.
Fordham’s claims of unfair dismissal and disability discrimination were dismissed on the grounds that alternative measures to wearing a mask such as social distancing were “not possible”, the employment judge said.
“Despite the relaxation of mask-wearing within the general population, the evidence before the tribunal was that this would not be changed within Mr Fordham’s NHS setting,” the judge said.
“There was no suggestion that the requirement to wear a mask in clinical settings was due to end at any time. One of his key duties was to transport patients within the hospital setting. This would not only see him come into contact with the patient but also a number of other individuals.”
Since Covid safety measures were dropped in 2023, staff in NHS England are no longer required to wear a mask in clinical settings. Healthcare charities and patient groups have called on NHS England to reintroduce the Covid-19 precautions for staff amid fears that clinically vulnerable patients and medics are being put at risk.
