Jewson fined after sacking stroke victim

The building supplies firm Jewson has been told to pay £390,870 in compensation to a man who was sacked while he was on sick leave following a stroke.

A Cardiff employment tribunal found that the firm had broken disability discrimination laws by firing Jonathan Jones, a branch manager, after five months sick leave while he was recovering after suffering a stroke in April 2009. Jewson said it took the action believing that Mr Jones would be unable to return to work.

The company denied discrimination but was forced to pay out for backdated wages, interest, penalty payments, pension payments and damages, although the compensation figure fell far short of the £1 million figure that Mr Jones originally claimed for.

A Jewson spokeswoman said: “We fell far short of the high standards we set ourselves in this area. We are focused on ensuring that the shortcomings identified in this case are not repeated and that it is seen as an opportunity to reaffirm our commitment to treating our employees with fairness, dignity and respect at all times.”

https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jewson-pays-out-391k-to-worker-140088