A police officer sued Merseyside Police after a colleague whistled 'Dolly Parton' songs at him over his working hours.
PC Stephen Knox has lost a sexual harassment claim after a colleague at Speke police station covered his desk in Dolly Parton photographs because he only worked from 9am to 5pm. PC Knox, a father-of-four, worked nine to five hours so he could care for his children and for his elderly mother.
PC Knox claimed his friend, identified only as PC Rylands, teased him about his hours between November 2016 and January 2017. An employment tribunal report, published on Tuesday, said: "It struck [PC Rylands] as remarkable that PC Knox had been able to secure a nine to five shift pattern within the Target Team.
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"PC Rylands started teasing PC Knox good-naturedly, by making references to the famous Dolly Parton song, "9 To 5".
"He whistled the song in PC Knox's presence and printed a picture of Dolly Parton to which he added the words "nine to five" and placed it on his workstation."
PC Knox later moved to Huyton police station, but clashed with senior officers over this hours. PC Knox claimed that on February 22 2017 that he was 'grilled' about his personal circumstances when he said he was unable to work two early shifts. PC Knox claimed that he was told that he should “just get on with it."
PC Knox was later signed off work after being diagnosed with depression, anxiety, and PTSD. He claimed that while on sick leave he received a letter and an email from the force
The employment tribunal report reads: "The wording of the e-mail, to which we shall return, speaks for itself, but it has been characterised in the allegation as a threat that the claimant would be subject to the respondent’s unsatisfactory performance procedures if he did not return to work."
A tribunal panel concluded that the email amounted to disability harassment because it made him 'feel fearful for the future of his employment and severely distressed'.
Also while off sick, he repeatedly requested backlogs of his work patterns, emails, and access to his work diaries . But the requests were constantly delayed and he received 'dismissive' emails about them, which amounted to victimisation, the panel concluded.
His other claims, including sexual harassment for the Dolly Parton incidents, were dismissed as they were presented too late or found to be without merit.
The report read: "The respondent did not dispute that Constable Rylands has conducted himself as "alleged, except that it was denied that Constable Rylands had actually called the "claimant “Dolly Parton”, and there was a very real issue as to how long Constable "Rylands had continued indulging in this behaviour."
Parton, now aged 76, wrote her hit '9 to 5' for the 1980 comedy film of the same name and it was released as a single that year.
PC Knox was awarded £12,080 for his successful claims. He argued he should be awarded a total of £231,000.
The tribunal refused an application to have the £12,080 award reconsidered.
A Merseyside Police spokesperson said: “Constable Knox pursued a number of claims in an Employment Tribunal in 2019 when the majority of those claims were not upheld.
“Con Knox pursued the matter through the Employment Appeal Tribunal process, and as a result he was awarded damages with a remedy judgement in 2021 for one incident.
“The officer applied for reconsideration of the remedy judgement in 2022, which was refused by the Employment Tribunal Judge.
“An application by Merseyside Police to seek costs from the officer is yet to be determined and as such it would be inappropriate to comment further on this case.
“However, we are very clear that Merseyside Police is committed to being an inclusive employee. We will provide the necessary support where appropriate to make sure the specific needs of police officers and staff are accommodated to provide a workplace that enables its staff to deliver the best service for the public of Merseyside that we are here to serve and protect.”
