Met Police officer moved three hours away from his base – then sued for discrimination because he wasn’t allowed to work from home

A Met Police officer who moved three hours away from his base and then sued for discrimination because he was not allowed to work from home has lost his case.

PC Paul Heard moved to Suffolk despite working for the Met Police in Croydon, south London.

He complained that his new commute was ‘exhausting’ and left him ‘tired’ as it was three hours round trip and six hours round trip by public transport.

The employment tribunal heard PC Heard claimed the long journey was ‘exhausting’ and ‘affecting her physical and mental health’.

The officer formally requested to work from home, despite his job as a police officer in Croydon.

The Met Police refused to comply with his demands and told PC Heard he would not be able to carry out his duties in the community as a police officer if he worked from home in Suffolk.

PC Heard later sued the force for disability discrimination and indirect disability discrimination.

However, the police officer who was still on duty lost the case.

PC Heard began working for the Met as a police officer and in 2017 he began working in the Command Post, primarily based in Croydon.

His duties included liaising with local organizations and required his presence in the area.

Constable Heard’s work was “always of a high standard” and he had occasionally served as Acting Sergeant.

The court heard: ‘In September 2018, [PC Heard] He moved to Suffolk.

‘This required him to travel approximately three hours to and from the Croydon building on public transport.

‘There was no disagreement about this’ [he] ‘He was initially able to manage this commute and carry out his duties effectively.’

While working from home was allowed in 2019 and it was accepted that the ‘vast majority’ of work would be completed in police buildings, it quickly became widespread during the pandemic period.

A “hybrid” framework was introduced in June 2021, allowing officers to work from home, but also stating that “they will typically spend time in the community but should also spend focused time in a Met Building”.

In mid-2021, PC Heard began experiencing health problems, primarily shortness of breath.

He started working ‘compressed’ hours – four days of ten hours each instead of five eight-hour days – and cited long commutes as his justification.

She was diagnosed with hypothyroidism in June 2022, and her doctor stated that she had been “managing symptoms of high blood pressure, fatigue, depression, and memory problems for several months.”

PC Heard is on sick leave from then until November 2022 and described himself at a outreach meeting as ‘tired and spending a lot of time sleeping’.

A phased return to work was planned for the autumn; this will start with just one day a week in the office and gradually add an extra day each week.

But it was the ‘agile working’ approach that allowed PC Heard to work exclusively from home.

PC Heard completed his psychological assessment in May 2023 and reported that the three-hour commute created ‘working condition stress’, but this was not an issue as he worked from home.

He reported that his physical and mental health could be compromised by ‘going to work’.

The report said PC Heard was assessed as fit for full hours on set duties and should ‘continue to work agile’.

However, the request to work from home was rejected by the Met, who said: ‘We currently have no role to allow working from home to the extent necessary and [with] no public contact.

‘PO’ [Police Officer] The role is a public operational role. ‘The adjustments will result in other officers in the teams taking on additional duties and will impact how effectively we can deliver on our operational priorities.’

PC Heard was later offered a job in Stratford, an hour’s commute away, but he still couldn’t get the job.

He complained that ‘the request for WFH and the refusal of that plan increased his stress and led to worsening symptoms’ and told the Department of Occupational Health that his commute was ‘exhausting’.

PC Heard lodged a complaint against the Met in November over the refusal of her request.

He began his phased return in January 2024, but because he was “symptomatic and working from home,” he often did not come to the police building.

Gradually, he started coming to work and his complaint was resolved informally. However, in July 2024, he reopened the complaint and went on sick leave for a month.

PC Heard was told another phased return to work was due to begin in January 2025 and a team could even be moved closer to home to make things easier.

A new Hybrid Working policy came into effect and so the officer once again applied to work from home but this application was again rejected.

The following argument was made in court on behalf of PC Heard: ‘[PC Heard] It is based on the difficulty of making long journeys by public transportation.

‘This [his] He stated that the long commute in question was approximately three hours each way and was difficult as it was tiring, stressful and anxiety-provoking, thus affecting his physical and mental health.’

Rejecting her claims, Employment Judge Nicholas Cox said the Met had made arrangements for PC Heard to be “flexible”.

Judge Cox said: ‘I consider that it is an essential element of an Operational Police Officer’s job to undertake a duty. [Met Police] place… at least for some Mission business.’

The court heard the latest medical report said PC Heard had adhered to the latest return to work programme.