A community nurse who was sacked after being diagnosed with long Covid has lost her tribunal claim for unfair dismissal.

Kathryn Fenner was dismissed from her job with the Peel district nursing team in June 2023 on the grounds of capability.

By that date, she had been employed for 634 days but had been signed off as sick for 534 of them.

Miss Fenner, a nurse with experience dating back to 1989, had started her job with Manx Care in September 2021.

Less than three months later, she contracted Covid. She returned to work for two weeks during January 2022 but her symptoms persisted and worsened. Miss Fenner was subsequently diagnosed by her GP as having long Covid.

She remained signed-off from work during all of 2022 with fluctuating symptoms including chronic fatigue. At times she thought she was recovering but the tribunal heard that even now she is still suffering adverse effects.

She took her case to tribunal claiming unfair dismissal and discrimination on the grounds of disability.

But the tribunal dismissed her claim in its entirety. It concluded that Manx Care’s treatment of her was proportionate as it would not have been reasonable for her sickness absence to continue when there was no indication when she might be able to return to work.

Keeping her position open to her would have been at a cost to the taxpayer and recruitment of a replacement was not permissible so long as she remained an employee. The result of her long-term absence was the team struggled to provide suitable care to the community, the tribunal heard.

Miss Fenner had been offered a career break - but didn’t realise this was an option for her and blamed brain fog, the result of her long Covid, for misreading an email.

As it turned out, that offer should never have been made because she was not entitled to that route at all as she had not worked for Manx Care for more than three years.

Giving her evidence, Miss Fenner maintained that her capability, being on health grounds as opposed to capability in performing her job, should not have been treated as a disciplinary process.

Her pay was stopped in May 2023 consistent with the terms of her contract. Her employment was terminated with immediate effect the following month on the grounds of being unfit to work in any capacity. The decision to dismiss her was upheld on appeal the following month.

Concluding there she was not unfairly dismissed , the tribunal said it was clear there was no witch-hunt against Miss Fenner.

It found the weight of evidence was that those involved had done their best to be supportive and to keep in touch with her during her long absence.

This had been both because of her wish to get her back to work but also because of the problems created for the Peel team by her long-term absence.

The panel members said they hoped that her health recovers so that she can apply to return to work as a community nurse where her long experience would be valuable.