PC Awarded £40k After Boss 'Ambushed' Her Over Winter Sick Leave

A female police officer has been awarded more than £40,000 after her boss criticised her for being unable to work in cold weather due to a rare medical condition.

Pc Denise Gemmell, a serving officer for 26 years, suffers from neuralgia — a nerve disorder that causes sudden, severe facial pain, often compared by the NHS to an "electric shock" in the jaw, teeth, or gums.

The condition, which developed after a 2014 accident left her with nerve damage, is worsened by icy or snowy conditions.

In December 2022, Gemmell took a week's sick leave after warning in an email that she would "struggle" in the harsh winter weather in Glasgow. On her return, she was called into a meeting with Inspector Stephen Gow. A Glasgow Employment Tribunal heard that Gow questioned the legitimacy of her condition, complained she was taking up too much of his time, and told her she was not well-liked at the station — leaving her in tears.

The tribunal described the meeting as an "ambush," noting that Gemmell had no chance to prepare.

Following the incident, she went off sick without pay for 11 months.

Judge Peter O'Donnell ruled that the meeting amounted to victimisation and awarded her £43,092 in compensation from Police Scotland. However, her separate claim for disability discrimination was unsuccessful.

Gemmell, who was moved from frontline duties to the Service Delivery Unit in 2016 under Insp Gow's supervision, has maintained that her condition makes working in freezing weather impossible.

The Johnson Partnership, Derby