An NHS psychologist who blamed menopausal symptoms for the "systematic bullying" of staff at a Glasgow trauma service has lost her disability discrimination fight.
Employees told of feeling "dread" when they saw her car arriving each day.
The woman was employed as a consultant clinical psychologist in NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde's Anchor Service, which provides support to asylum seekers and victims of sexual offences.
In November 2020, a group of 10 staff submitted a collective grievance making 14 allegations of systematic bullying and harassment by the woman and a colleague.
An investigation was launched by the health board in which the psychologist claimed that she suffered from high blood pressure and a "traumatic" early menopause with symptoms including severe hot flushes.
Witnesses reported that her behaviour had been an issue as early as 2010.
Staff were unsure on a day-to-day basis as to how they would be treated by the psychologist, "which would depend on her mood each day".
She was described as angry, aggressive and abusive and "critical of those she did not favour".
She "undermined and humiliated" staff who described working within "a culture of fear".
There was a perception that the woman was "well thought of" by senior managers internally and externally.
A conduct hearing was held between March 23 2022 and April 21 2022. The woman, who has not been identified, did not mention the menopause but said she had been signed off with high blood pressure for work-related stress.
The psychologist told the hearing that people management was "not her forte” and the health board acknowledged that she could have been better supported in her role.
However, staff witnesses were described as "credible, cohesive and consistent" and the panel concluded the allegations of systematic bullying had been established.
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They considered summary dismissal, which was open to them given the severity of the allegations, but instead issued a first and final written warning to remain on file for 12 months.
She was demoted to another role that did not involve managing people.
On or around 17 June 2022, and while on long-term sickness absence, the claimant appealed the decision.
She said her medical condition [menopausal symptoms] had not been taken into account and she had been "sanctioned" because of it.
The health board took into account that the claimant was experiencing significant symptoms but concluded that the behaviours "cannot be significant mitigated by the menopausal symptoms". She was told that it was upholding the decision.
A GP told the panel that the claimant had reported impact on her mental well-being due to menopause from 2015 until 2020 but suggested that if there was any effect on her workplace behaviour, "it was likely to have been from November 2019".
In some cases, the menopause can be considered a disability under discrimination law and an earlier tribunal concluded that her symptoms did meet the threshold.
The judgment noted sleep disturbance, sweating, anxiety, tiredness, low mood, nausea, hot flushes and a red complexion. It also refers to "irritation and lack of tolerance".
However, a later tribunal concluded that the woman had not relied on her disability as a cause of her behaviour until the appeal process and her behaviours were "related to her management style".
It found witnesses had been clear that the claimant’s approach to staff interaction "was not something that had just occurred but was rather the approach she had taken for many years".
Her claim of disability discrimination was struck out by the tribunal judge.
The health board's legal team noted that while the claimant may have had symptoms of the menopause from an earlier date, she was legally disabled between August 2017 and December 2021.
"Any behaviour arising prior to August 2017 cannot have been something arising in consequence of a disability," it said.
The Tribunal acknowledged the "huge challenges" the disability presented for the claimant but said it appeared that the way in which the claimant conducted herself at work in relation to staff interactions predated the onset of the disability.
Tribunal Judge David Hoey said: "The claimant was able to pick and choose who she behaved poorly around, treating some people well and some less well.
"That demonstrated that the treatment was not because of the symptoms or consequences of the disability."
The woman chose to chose to withdraw the sex discrimination claim after the last day of evidence.
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