Wheelchair tennis exec wins £27,000 payout from sport’s governing body after she was sacked for refusing to comply with ‘hard line’ Covid policy that required her to be double-jabbed
- Sarah Synan has successfully sued the International Tennis Federation (ITF)
- ITF enforced ‘particularly severe restrictions’ against her over not getting the jab
An executive who worked at the governing body for tennis has won more than £27,000 after she was sacked for refusing to comply with its ‘hard line’ Covid-19 vaccine policy.
Sarah Synan successfully sued the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after it enforced ‘particularly severe restrictions’ against her when she refused to get the jab.
An employment tribunal heard senior executives at the federation decided it needed to adopt a ‘hard line’ stance on ‘non vaxxed people’.
Ahead of the US Masters in October 2021 the ITF enforced a strict new policy that employees must be double-jabbed to travel – even though there was no requirements to be vaccinated to enter the country at the time.
Miss Synan could not go to the tournament and faced other strict restrictions which meant she could not attend the 2021 Christmas party.
Sarah Synan (pictured) successfully sued the International Tennis Federation (ITF) after it enforced ‘particularly severe restrictions’ against her when she refused to get the jab
Then, on February 22, 2022, when national Covid-19 restrictions were easing Miss Synan was sacked from her £37,500 post as wheelchair tennis ‘team lead’.
One day later the government announced the legal requirement to self-isolate after a positive Covid test would end.
Now she has successfully sued the ITF for unfair dismissal and has won £27,465 in compensation after the tribunal ruled it would have been obvious to the federation that Covid-19 difficulties were clearing up and firing her was unreasonable.
The hearing in Croydon was told Miss Synan arranged and attended ‘prestigious’ international companies including the Paralympics and US Masters and had worked at the London-based ITF for four years before she was sacked.
Colleagues said she was ‘dedicated and hard-working’ and ‘her dismissal was unjustified and that there was no legal obligation to be vaccinated’.
Miss Synan said she had ‘anxiety’ about getting vaccinated and thought ‘the only downside was a restriction on her travel’ after experiencing Covid in March 2020 and suffering a mild episode in 2021.
A tribunal report said: ‘Employees at the ITF were encouraged to come back into the office in July 2021. Staff were strongly encouraged to get the vaccine, but there was no formal requirement to do so.
‘The delayed Paralympic Games were in August, and Miss Synan went along with the rest of the team. She had not been vaccinated, but this did not cause any difficulty with the travel arrangements.
‘Each of them had to provide a negative test before departure and wear a mask. If they tested positive on the way back they would have to quarantine.
‘After that the next major event was the US Masters in Florida, which was in late October 2021.
Pictured: The ITF headquarters which is located in London
‘All the arrangements had been made, including flights, when Miss Synan received a message from [Head of Wheelchair Tennis Alistair] Williams to say that a new policy was coming in that all staff must be double vaccinated to travel.
‘At that time there was no need to be vaccinated to enter the US, but she responded to say that she understood.
‘The position was confirmed a few days later, and she was not allowed to go, so one of her colleagues went in her place – accompanied by a freelance cameraman, who was also un-vaccinated.’
Internal emails from Mr Williams and HR director Jane O’Sullivan showed them discussing how to deal with un-vaccinated employees like Miss Synan.
Ms O’Sullivan said to him: ‘This is serious stuff and I think we need to take a hard line on non ‘vaxxed’ people.’
Ms O’Sullivan told the tribunal that the initiative ‘came from the President himself’, David Haggerty.
She said he ‘felt that it was no longer acceptable for any member of the ITF to represent them at an international event if they had not been vaccinated’.
Miss Synan was told in November 2021 she had to provide negative lateral flow tests every time she was in the office, had to get approval for overseas holidays and had to discuss with their manager ‘how to manage their attendance at staff meetings or social gatherings’.
She also had to be ‘extra diligent’ about wearing a mask and was told any non-compliance could lead to punishment.
Concluding she had been unfairly dismissed, Employment Judge Eoin Fowell said they were ‘particularly severe restrictions’ as it was at odds with government advice.
Judge Fowell said: ‘The national and international Covid situation were clearly improving at the time of Miss Synan’s dismissal.
Ahead of the US Masters in October 2021 the ITF enforced a strict new policy that employees must be double-jabbed to travel – even though there was no requirement to be vaccinated to enter the country at the time [File image]
‘It was over a year since the last lockdown in the UK and as already emphasised the government had announced the ending of all restrictions.
‘Certainly by the time of the appeal hearing they could no longer be any doubt that it was just a matter of time. Restrictions surrounding the Omicron variant had been and gone. Fairness requires all that to have been considered.
‘The ITF should at least have applied their minds to how long restrictions were likely to last.
‘In fact, the schedule of events prepared by Mr Williams, showing the six remaining international events, suggests that they did, and that they felt there was no need to be concerned beyond the end of 2022.
‘The obvious alternative here would have been to rearrange things so that Miss Synan’s colleagues took up the international travel for the duration, to cover the four solo international visits. Her colleagues were ready and willing to do so.
‘It certainly does not seem an unmanageable number of events particularly given that Miss Synan was a valued employee.
‘To dismiss Miss Synan in those circumstances seems to me to be a decision which is outside the range of reasonable responses.’
Source: Read Full Article
