Disabled Worker Sacked After Surveillance Wins £329,000 Payout

A disabled man who lost his job after his bosses spied on him said justice had been done when his former employer agreed to pay him £329,000 ($420,000) in damages and lost earnings.

Alan Jones, 59, had taken sick leave from his team leader position at Pilkington UK Ltd in St Helens after developing a chronic, painful condition tied to side effects from earlier cancer treatment.

In October 2019, the company informed him it suspected he had worked while on sick leave and had hired a surveillance firm to monitor him.

A Pilkington spokesperson said the company conducted an in-depth review to ensure the same mistakes are not repeated. "We recognise that we fell short with Mr Jones and we wish him the best for the future."

Jones, the fifth generation in his family to enter glass-making, joined Pilkington in 1983 as an apprentice after leaving school. He described a sense of betrayal from the company he had served loyally. "I'd been loyal to the company," he told the BBC. "Using their words, I had an unblemished record. I was somebody who showed commitment and loyalty and all that was thrown out the window, and yeah, that was disappointing."

In his early 50s, Jones noticed unusual fatigue during simple tasks. He also suffered debilitating pain and weakness in his shoulder, which hampered manual work.

Doctors diagnosed radiation-induced neuropathy, an incurable condition from radiotherapy he received for Hodgkin's lymphoma at age 21. They said he would never manage manual work again.

"You don't expect something like that to come along and then it just changed all my outlook on life, you know? Those money worries, what am I gonna do? How are we gonna survive?"

Despite sick leave and declining mental health, Jones hoped to control his pain and return to light duties. He spent time at a friend's farm in Cronton, Cheshire, to aid his mental health and fight isolation.

"It was just being there, if you know what I mean, being outside and in nature. There was nothing physical," Jones said. "He had his own greenhouse, growing flowers at the time for my daughter's wedding."

A former colleague spotted him in work boots and reported him. Pilkington then hired Mike India Five Ltd, which surveilled Jones, his farm friend, his wife Linda and his daughter.

Jones learned of the surveillance at a 2019 disciplinary hearing for gross misconduct. The company showed video of the grandfather of three handing his friend a small bag of potatoes and passing a hose on an errand. It deemed this proof he worked elsewhere and acted against his condition, without seeking medical evidence.

Jones was sacked after the process. He recalled seeing an ex-colleague at security: "To this day she remarks that the look on my face she will never, ever forget. It was like a death, it was like being told somebody close to you died. It was up there and it was just the unbelievableness of, how have we got to this point?"

His first concern was the family impact, but "deep down, I knew it was wrong. I knew it was wrong what they've done."

Supported by Unite union, Jones won at a first-tier employment tribunal in 2021. Pilkington appealed in 2023, but the appeal failed. The judge ruled Jones faced unfair discrimination due to his disability.

Damages talks followed, but in 2024 Jones had a heart attack he linked to stress and underwent double bypass surgery.

Bernie Wentworth, head of employment rights at Thompsons Solicitors, which represented Jones, said: "This case highlights the consequences of employers making assumptions about disabled workers rather than properly understanding their condition and the medical evidence."

Stephen Pinder, Unite's legal director, said: "Alan was a loyal employee for decades and deserved support and fair treatment, not suspicion and dismissal."