British veteran turned prison officer who was sacked without a final warning after taking 98 days off with PTSD wins £82,000 payout
A British Army veteran who was fired from the Prison Service after taking 98 consecutive days off due to post-traumatic stress disorder has been awarded £82,000 in compensation for unfair dismissal.
Bombardier Morgan Armstrong, who served on operational tours in Iraq, Afghanistan and Europe, worked at HMP Manchester from 2019 until the end of 2023.
But the soldier was released after a long period of leave due to post-traumatic stress disorder, which Prison Service bosses knew he had.
They believed they had given him two formal notices regarding the leave period, and these were recorded on an internal system.
However, Mr Armstrong had been given two opposing letters stating that he was not subject to a formal disciplinary hearing.
An employment tribunal ruled that he was therefore unfairly dismissed and that the manner in which he was dismissed was a form of discrimination arising from PTSD, a legally recognized disability.
Bosses said they were ‘exasperated’ by his absence during the meeting in which he was sacked.
But Labor Judge Phil Allen concluded they failed to take into account depression and anxiety resulting from post-traumatic stress disorder, which could have made him appear out of character.
The court in Manchester was told Mr Armstrong had taken several leaves of absence due to multiple bouts of flu and mental health problems.
After taking 39 days off over three years, he was summoned to a meeting where prison bosses said he had been given a formal warning.
Instead, he was given a letter stating that he was not the subject of formal proceedings.
Morgan Armstrong, a former bombardier in the British Army, received an £82,000 payout after a court ruled he was unfairly dismissed from his job with the Prison Service
The soldier served tours in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as operational tours in Europe, before embarking on justice duty.
After another period of leave, he was summoned again to a meeting where manager Wayne Howard said he gave Mr Armstrong a final formal warning.
But Mr Howard has since said that what he said was a mistake and handed a letter to the veteran, telling him: ‘I am not taking any formal action in this case.’
This led the prison officer to believe that he had not been notified.
Matters came to a head when she applied to switch from working in a wing to working as a full-time attendant to inmates outside the prison, turning down offers to work ‘ordinary’ visiting shifts.
Around the same time, in early September 2023, he called in sick. He would never return to work again.
The court heard that during his absence Mr Armstrong was told by both his manager and a colleague that he would move to ‘external’ duties as he had hoped.
But in October he learned he would be put on visiting duties for which he had not applied, causing a ‘massive decline’ in his mental health.
Shortly afterwards he was told he would be facing another meeting to discuss his absence.
Medical reports prepared before the meeting suggested he stopped taking antidepressants because he felt better, but this caused his symptoms to return ‘with a vengeance’.
He added: ‘Once his mental health symptoms begin to improve, he may attempt a gradual return to work and I expect it may take a few months before he feels well enough to return once his medication has had its full effect.’
No date was given for his expected return, but manager Simon told Eve he hoped to return to work once his sick leave was completed.
But prison service bosses interpreted this to mean he was unfit to return to work, which the court said was ‘not what the report said’.
Regardless, following the meeting on 11 December, Morgan Armstrong was dismissed due to his ‘horrendous’ attendance record. It was heard that his bosses took as little as two minutes to make a decision and that he was left “blind” with no paperwork that his managers had.
Giving evidence, the soldier told the court he felt everything he said had fallen on ‘deaf ears’ and that the decision had ‘already been made’.
He was not asked when he could return to work, the court heard. The objection was rejected.
Robert Knight, managing director of HMP Manchester, claimed Mr Armstrong’s demeanor at the meeting was ‘exasperated’.
Before his dismissal, Mr Armstrong worked at HMP Manchester, formerly known as Strangeways Gaol.
However, Employment Judge Allen noted: ‘We observed that what Mr Knight may have been interpreting was demeanor that would be expected from someone with anxiety, depression and PTSD, particularly someone who was having problems with his medication at the time.’
It found that the soldier had been unfairly dismissed, suffered unlawful discrimination arising from disability and that the Prison Service had breached its duty to make reasonable adjustments.
Other complaints regarding direct disability discrimination and unfair treatment due to his disability (allegation that he could not get a job escorting prisoners due to his absence) were not upheld.
The judge also reduced the total compensation by 40 per cent because, in his opinion, there was ‘a realistic possibility that a fair and non-discriminatory dismissal decision may have been made by this employer’.
Mr. Armstrong’s request to reconsider this matter was denied by the court. In total he was awarded £82,067.62, comprising a basic award of £3,500, compensation of £30,000, damages of £41,000 and interest of £7,700.
Employment Judge Allen concluded: ‘The employer could have been expected to wait longer for the claimant’s return.’
Mr Armstrong and HM Prison Service have been contacted for comment.
