Five-star hotel employee who was told to complete the payroll in a cupboard 'after she struggled to focus in the office' wins more than £200,000

A woman who was sacked from a five-star hotel because she struggled to 'focus in the office' because of her ADHD has been awarded over £200,000 in compensation.Roberta Ghiotto was hired at Hawkwell House Hotel, in Iffley, Oxford, as a Talent and Culture Coordinator from October 2023 until her dismissal in March 2024.Despite having no formal qualifications or experience, she was referred to as human resources (HR) and put on a three-month probation period. As part of her role, Ms Ghiotto was asked to complete payroll, a task she found particularly difficult due to her additional needs. She told her boss, the hotel's general manager Anuj Sagar, that she struggled completing very detail-oriented tasks and focusing in a busy office. Ms Ghiotto told Reading Employment Tribunal that Mr Sagar had taken an instant disliking to her and was 'prejudiced' against her. He later admitted he thought Ms Ghiotto was trying to be 'deliberately insubordinate'.Mr Sagar decided to extend her probation period by another three months because she had made errors in previous payroll tasks. Roberta Ghiotto was hired at Hawkwell House Hotel, in Iffley, Oxford, as a Talent and Culture Coordinator from October 2023 until her dismissal in March 2024In February 2024, he asked her to focus solely on her payroll duties for three days in a separate room, a former cupboard with no telephone or window.Over the three-day period, Ms Ghiotto struggled with the task and asked an accountant to help her, as well as an extra day to complete it. In a meeting to discuss the length of time the payroll took, she explained to Mr Sagar that she had ADHD but had not been formally diagnosed. He told her he had received advice from Croner, a UK-based consultancy firm, that he could dismiss her. He sent her a letter of dismissal in March 2024 based on her failure to perform to the required standards during her probation. Ms Ghiotto told the tribunal she fell into a 'deep depression' after being sacked and went to a doctor to seek medication. She said: 'Imagine knowing you have something about you, something different, which you need support with, and you communicate that to your line manager in a plea for help, but instead of any help or support being given, your line manager used that very thing as the reason to dismiss you.'The sense of absolute betrayal you feel from that moment on is awful, soul-destroying, confidence-draining, and really affects your self-image and your self-worth.'Employment Judge Akua Reindorf KC ruled that Ms Ghiotto did have ADHD, despite not having a diagnosis, and Mr Sagar was aware of this. Hawkwell House Hotel, which is managed by the Accor Group, describes itself as an 'enchanting retreat' in a 'picturesque village' in OxfordThe former hotel worker was awarded £200,252 in compensation. Judge Reindorf KC said Mr Sagar had sought advice about ADHD and decided that because she did not have a diagnosis, he could fire her.She told the hearing: 'Mr Sagar asked whether [Ms Ghiotto] had a formal diagnosis. When she said she did not, he asked whether the condition had been entered on her 'charts' and if so whether it was 'clear'. 'In light of this line of questioning, we think it more likely than not that in his telephone call to [consultant's] Croner the previous day, Mr Sagar had been advised to find out whether [she] had a diagnosis, and told that if she did not he could dismiss her.'We consider it likely that this advice was given on the mistaken basis that a diagnosis is necessary before a condition can be classified as a disability under the EqA [Equality Act].'The intention, therefore, was to dismiss [her] because she had ADHD in the belief that she was not protected by the EqA. Moreover, Mr Sagar was aware that the advice was given for these reasons.'Judge Reindorf KC said that the task of completing payroll was set up by Mr Sagar to make Ms Ghiotto 'fail' because the room was not a 'suitable work space'.She said: 'We reject his evidence that he was trying to support her. Rather, we think that he was attempting to build evidence to substantiate his view that she was not capable of the job.'He stripped away from her all the aspects of the job that she enjoyed and was successful at, and made her work only on the task that she struggled with the most.'He did not arrange additional training or support other than to place [her] in an isolated, windowless small room on her own, purportedly to assist her with concentration.'She added that the problems Ms Ghiotto experienced were due to a combination of her ADHD, a lack of training and experience, missing and incomplete data, confusion over processes and the pressure she was under to complete the task. Hawkwell House Hotel, which is managed by the Accor Group, describes itself as an 'enchanting retreat' in a 'picturesque village'.It has a 4.5 rating on Google from over 2,000 reviews from guests.