A female police officer was harassed by her sergeant when he told her that her ADHD meetings were 'a load of nonsense', a tribunal has found.

PC Talitha Henderson, 52, was subjected to 'dismissive and sarcastic comments' about her condition by her boss at Greater Manchester Police (GMP), Sgt James Beirne, it was found.

The constable said she needed special meetings about her ADHD to be organised during her shifts to 'help me manage my role effectively'.

But Sgt Beirne told her that she should be 'getting on with real police work' instead.

Miss Henderson, who is also an expert police driving instructor, sued GMP after resigning from the force over the treatment she received and has since started her own driving school.

Manchester Employment Tribunal ruled that the comments from Sgt Beirne amounted to disability harassment. 

The tribunal nonetheless dismissed Miss Henderson's case because she didn't bring her claims in time.

It was found that Miss Henderson also suffered disability discrimination and suffered detriment for whistle-blowing, but those claims were also thrown out because she missed the time limit.

She would be in line for compensation if she had managed to submit her complaints in time. 

Miss Henderson, from Oldham, joined GMP as a civilian police driving instructor in March 2019, before becoming a police constable in March 2022. 

She told the tribunal: 'I have ADHD, which affects my concentration, working memory and ability to process multiple demands simultaneously, particularly in a busy or noisy environment.

'My ADHD also affects my working memory, meaning I can struggle to recall specific details such as dates, collar numbers, and reference information unless these are written down.

'I found it challenging to retain and confidently navigate complex police IT systems without consistent, structured guidance.'

Miss Henderson said she faced battles at work to have her ADHD treated seriously but in February 2023 had a series of meetings that were designed to take her condition into consideration and 'help me manage my role effectively'.

It was agreed they would be held during her shifts, but Miss Henderson said Sgt Beirne 'questioned why' they weren't taking place on her days off.

Miss Henderson said that Sgt Beirne told her: 'What do you talk about anyway how much energy you have? Aren't they a load of nonsense, you just need to write a list and you should be getting on with real police work.'

She had to cancel the meeting due to internet issues.

Three weeks later she was forced to cancel again due to a problem with her shift pattern.

At the time, Sgt Beirne made 'dismissive and sarcastic' about the meetings and failed to accommodate Miss Henderson's requests to attend them.

The tribunal found that cancelling the second meeting 'had the requisite effect of violating (Miss Henderson's) dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for Miss Henderson'.

Two weeks later a third meeting was cancelled as Sgt Beirne had given her instructions to work on an investigation and arrest a suspect.

This was found to be 'unwanted conduct since Miss Henderson valued the sessions and found these very helpful to her'.

In March 2023 Sgt Beirne made Miss Henderson stay behind and 'think about why it was taking her so long' when she got behind on her work.

Miss Henderson said she was 'shocked' by her punishment and felt 'like she was in school'.

The tribunal found that because of her ADHD the police should have allowed her more time to complete paperwork.

The tribunal was also told that in October 2022 Miss Henderson complained to a sergeant in the Driving School that another sergeant had been driving excessively fast, at almost 90mph in a 30mph zone, when responding to an incident.

She was told by an Inspector that she should have spoken to them first, which the tribunal found was the Inspector trying to block her taking the appropriate whistleblowing channels when making a complaint.

Miss Henderson resigned in November 2023, citing the treatment she received.

Manchester Employment Tribunal found that if she had brought the claims in time, her disability harassment and discrimination and her whistle-blowing claims would have been successful.

Employment Judge Hilary Slater said: 'We found that Sgt Beirne did make dismissive and sarcastic comments about the meetings as alleged.

'We conclude that the comments constituted unwanted conduct.

'We conclude that the comments were related to disability; they explicitly referenced behaviours related to ADHD and expressed a dismissive view of the value of the meetings intended to assist the claimant with matters relating to ADHD.

'We conclude that the comments had the requisite effect and it was reasonable for them to do so. The comments were dismissive and hurtful.'

Speaking after the case, Miss Henderson said she is appealing because the tribunal said she brought her claims too late.

She has since started her own driving instructor business, Tal's Driving School.

Miss Henderson said: 'It was just disgraceful behaviour from GMP.

'I'm quite a strong person so I was not too affected by (the comments), but ADHD is so common now and so many people have it that it is not right for police to treat people like that.

'I was disgusted by their treatment.

'I've just got no respect for them (GMP) now, they lied about things and as a police organisation they should have stood up for me.

'It's a bad organisation. I never once thought 'I'm going to sue the police' and I didn't want to leave, but they gave me no choice.'