A veterinary surgeon has won a £12,000 payout after she was forced to work through her lunch breaks.

Michelle Beckett resigned from her job at Pet Doctors, in Chichester, after she claimed to be suffering from burnout after having to work 'long hours' and 'busy days without lunch breaks', an employment tribunal heard.

The vet also took unpaid overtime because there was a 'below standard of animal care' at the surgery and this resulted in her being signed off work with stress.  

On her return, she was still required to work through her lunch breaks even though an occupational health report said that the working conditions had caused her mental health issues.

On one occasion, her boss brought her own pet dog into the vets out of hours and then complained when Miss Beckett raised concerns about the incident.

After the manager tried to take disciplinary action against her for this and other issues, Miss Beckett resigned.

Now, Miss Beckett has won her claims for unfair constructive dismissal and unlawful deductions from wages and she has been awarded £12,758 in compensation.

The employment tribunal, held virtually, heard Miss Beckett was employed by corporate veterinary group CVS from September 2020 where she worked as a veterinary surgeon at Pet Doctors in Chichester, mostly at its surgery in Felpham, both West Sussex.

The tribunal heard: 'From the commencement of her employment with [CVS, Miss Beckett] worked long hours and had busy days without lunch breaks.

'She undertook unpaid overtime as and when necessary.'

In October 2023, she told the surgery's management that she had witnessed 'below standard animal care', and that there was a 'toxic environment' because of 'differences between receptionists and the professional staff'.

Although she raised concerns about her workplace, she didn't feel they were taken seriously, and her mental health suffered as a result.

Miss Beckett was signed off work with 'burnout/work-related stress' by her doctor in January 2024.

Before her return to work in March 2024, she told her line manager in a letter that the problems she had witnessed at the surgery had led to her suffering mental health issues.

An occupational health report carried out around this time found: 'In my medical opinion, Michelle's health and wellbeing, particularly her history of work-related stress and depression, could contribute to mood fluctuations and occasional perceived uncivil behaviour towards colleagues.

'It is important to consider these factors as they can impact her interactions at work.'

The report suggested ways that Miss Beckett's wellbeing could be supported at work.

However, despite returning on a 'phased' basis, she felt she was 'still working under stress and not able to take her lunch breaks due to the pressure that she was under'.

In April that year, the practice director Lucy Millett contacted Miss Beckett before work started to ask her to help her own dog.

Miss Beckett then faced a barrage of questions from Ms Millett until 8pm that evening.

This meant she worked over 10 hours with no lunch break during her 'phased return'.

The following month, she was told that she was being invited to a meeting which was about Ms Millett becoming her line manager.

However, it was actually an 'informal disciplinary meeting' and Ms Millett made complaints and allegations about Miss Beckett's behaviour.

She complained about having to deal with Miss Beckett's 'concerns' as well as the stress of her dog's illness when she took it in to be treated.

Ms Millett also alleged that Miss Beckett spoke to colleagues in an 'uncivil way', which made Miss Beckett 'very distressed and upset'.

At the tribunal, Ms Millett admitted that she had not read the occupational health report which explained how Miss Beckett's health issues might impact her interactions with colleagues.

In a record of the meeting, Ms Millett wrote that 'sometimes when [Miss Beckett is] stressed [her] tone comes across [as] impatient, bordering on aggressive'.

In July 2024, Miss Beckett resigned, saying that the disciplinary action taken against her was a breach of the company's duty of care towards her.

CVS tried to get her to retract her resignation, but she did not, and she made a complaint the following month which was dismissed by the company.

The employment tribunal panel found that CVS breached its own procedures in pursuing disciplinary action against Miss Beckett.

The panel said: 'I find that given this fundamental breach, [CVS] continued in its unreasonable conduct by breaching the implied term of trust and confidence by proceeding with the informal disciplinary meeting on 21 May 2024 causing [Miss Beckett] extreme distress and upset especially in the circumstances that [CVS] was aware of her recent work-related sickness absence.'

Her former employer admitted during the hearing that her claim for unlawful deductions from wages had been proved.

She has worked as a self-employed locum veterinary surgeon since her resignation from CVS.