Martin Bentley, 67, was 'prepared to use whatever means he could' to avoid going back to the office when Covid lockdown rules were relaxed, a tribunal in Liverpool heard. He got his way and worked from home until his retirement in 2024, despite an Occupational Health report suggesting he could work in person with no issue.
But that wasn't enough for him, oh dear me no...
After attempting to sue HMRC for disability discrimination, Mr Bentley was branded as 'vexatious' and ordered to pay £20,000 as his claims would never have succeeded.
That's for his share of the costs of his hopeless case. Anyone else would keep their mouths shut, but not Mr Bentley, who has rushed to press to blame - his union!
Mr Bentley has not blamed himself for what happened, but instead holds his union accountable, claiming it encouraged him to take legal action. At his home on the 12th floor of a block of flats in Bootle, Mr Bentley told the Daily Mail: 'I have to pay back £240 every month until the money is all paid back.
'I am more angry with my union, the Public and Commercial Services Union, than anyone else. They encouraged me to go down this path, saying they had never seen a worse case of victimisation.''But then they abandoned me. They didn't even turn up for the hearing, leaving me on my own.'
They could clearly see the way the wind was blowing, given the wealth of evidence presented at the tribunal about the way HMRC bent over backwards to accommodate his claims.
During his time at HMRC, he gave evidence for a female colleague's employment tribunal. Her allegations had been against Michael Connell, who, upon finding out that Mr Bentley had given evidence against him, sent him a Teams message describing him as a 'spineless little f***ing worm' and a 'sneaky slimy prick'.He later claimed he had been abused and that his department had done little to support him.
It shows just what sort of idiots they hire for HMRC when someone decides to abuse a subordinate on a recordable communication app open to the rest of the team.
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