A Metropolitan Police officer who relocated three hours away from his assigned station and subsequently filed a discrimination lawsuit for being denied the option to work remotely has had his case dismissed.
PC Paul Heard made the move to Suffolk while his duties remained in Croydon, South London.
He argued that the lengthy commute was ‘exhausting’ and left him ‘tired’, citing the six-hour round trip on public transportation as a significant strain.
During the employment tribunal, PC Heard explained that the extended travel time was ‘fatiguing’ and adversely affected both his physical and mental well-being.
Despite his request to work from home, his role required active policing in Croydon.
The Metropolitan Police rejected his request, emphasizing that his responsibilities as a police officer could not be fulfilled from a remote location in Suffolk.
PC Heard then sued the force for disability discrimination and indirect disability discrimination.
But the officer, who is still serving, lost his case.
Met Police officer PC Paul Heard (not pictured) sued the Force for discrimination after he moved three hours away from his base in Croydon and was not allowed to work from home
PC Heard began working as a police officer with the Met, and in 2017 started work in Duty in the Command stationed primarily in Croydon.
His duties included liaising with local organisations and required him to be in the area.
Officer Heard’s work was ‘always of a high standard’ and he had occasionally covered as an Acting Sergeant.
The tribunal heard: ‘In September 2018, [PC Heard] had moved to Suffolk.
‘This required him to commute on public transport for approximately three hours each way to the Croydon building.
‘There was no dispute that [he] was initially able to manage this commute and discharge his functions effectively.’
Since working from home was allowed in 2019, and while it was accepted that ‘the majority’ of work would be completed in police buildings, it quickly became more common during the pandemic.
A ‘blended’ framework came into place in June 2021, which allowed officers to work from home but also stated they would ‘typically spend time out in the community but also need to spend focused time within a Met Building’.
In mid-2021, PC Heard began experiencing health problems, particularly breathlessness.
He began working ‘compressed’ hours – four days of ten hours each instead of five days of eight hours – and cited the long commute in his reasoning.
In June 2022, he was diagnosed with hypothyroidism, with his doctor noting he had been ‘managing symptoms of high blood pressure, tiredness, depression and memory problems for some months’.
PC Heard went on sick leave from then until November 2022, describing himself in a welfare meeting as ‘tired and spending a lot of time sleeping’.
A phased return to work was scheduled for the autumn, which would start with just one day a week in the office to gradually add one extra day each week.
However, it was an ‘agile working’ approach that actually allowed PC Heard to work exclusively from home.
PC Heard completed a psychological assessment in May 2023 and reported that his three-hour commute was a ‘working condition stressor’, but it was not an issue as he worked from home.
He reported that his physical and mental wellbeing could be compromised by ‘travelling into work’.
In the report, PC Heard was assessed as fit for full hours on adjusted duties and it was stated that he should ‘continue with agile working’.
However his request to work from home was denied by the Met, which said: ‘We currently have no roles available that would allow working from home to the extent required and [with] no public contact.
‘The PO [Police Officer] role is an operational public facing role. The adjustments would result in additional work being placed upon other officers on the teams and would impact how we could effectively deliver our operational priorities.’
PC Heard was later offered a job in Stratford, one hour’s commute away – but he still failed to go into work.
He complained that the ‘refusal of his WFH request and this plan exacerbated his stress and resulted in a worsening of symptoms’ and told Occupational Health that his commute was ‘exhausting’.
PC Heard filed a grievance against the Met in November because of the refusal of his request.
He began the phased return in January 2024 but would often not turn up to the police building because he was ‘symptomatic and instead worked from home’.
He slowly started to come into work and the grievance was informally resolved – but, in July 2024, he re-started the grievance and went on sick leave for a month.
PC Heard was told that another phased return to work should begin in January 2025, and that a team could even be moved closer to his home to make things easier.
A new Hybrid Working policy came into place and so the officer yet again applied to work from home – but it was again rejected.
At the tribunal, it was claimed on PC Heard’s behalf: ‘[PC Heard] relies on a difficulty in undertaking long commutes on public transport.
‘It is [his] position that the specific long commute in question is approximately three hours each way and is difficult because it is fatiguing, stressful, and anxiety-inducing, and therefore impacts his physical and mental health.’
Dismissing his claims, Employment Judge Nicholas Cox said the Met has already made adjustments to be ‘flexible’ for PC Heard.
Judge Cox said: ‘I consider to be an essential element of the work of an Operational Police Officer working on the Duty to attend a [Met Police] location… for at least some Duty work.’
The tribunal heard that the latest medical report said PC Heard is adhering to his latest return to work programme.
