ADHD Police Staff Member Awarded £19,000 Over Denied Headphones Request

A police employee with ADHD has been awarded more than £19,000 after successfully bringing a disability discrimination claim against Avon and Somerset Police over its handling of her request for noise-cancelling headphones.

Donna Vale asked for the headphones when she started work as a victim and witness care officer in September 2023, arguing they would help reduce background noise and enable her to work more effectively. An employment tribunal heard that she informed the force she had ADHD and repeated the request following a four-week probation review.

Although Ms Vale already owned a pair of noise-cancelling headphones at home, the tribunal heard she neither used them at work nor told her manager about them. Her line manager, Jennie Clarke, asked her to explain why she specifically required noise-cancelling headphones but did not receive a reply.

Despite this, the tribunal found the force still had a legal duty to consider reasonable adjustments for her disability. Employment Judge Edmund Beever acknowledged it was unusual that Ms Vale had suitable headphones but had not mentioned them or brought them to work. However, he said this did not weaken her case because "the duty to make reasonable adjustments is on the employer, not the employee."

The judge ordered Avon and Somerset Police to pay Ms Vale £19,141 in compensation, including £15,124 for injury to feelings.

The tribunal also heard that Ms Vale was new to policing, having previously run a creative arts business. She said she had chosen self-employment because her ADHD made working with others more difficult.

Ms Vale received an ADHD diagnosis through an online assessment with ADHD360 in May 2023 after her GP had initially attributed her symptoms to low self-esteem rather than ADHD.

Whitestone Solicitors