Civil servant fired for looking up her neighbour on government database

A civil servant who was fired for looking up her neighbour on a government database after blaming it on running out of HRT claimed that stopping her menopause medication made her ‘forgetful’ and lack concentration.

Louise Kelly was fired from the Department of Work and Pensions after she was twice caught misusing the computer system which contains private financial and health information, an employment tribunal heard.

The ‘serious’ security breach was the second one the administrative officer made in a month as she previously searched her own address, the hearing was told.

However, when she was disciplined, middle-aged Ms Kelly insisted it was a ‘genuine accident’ as a direct result of stopping taking hormone replacement therapy (HRT).

She claimed that stopping her five-year course of the medicine — used to relieve symptoms of the menopause — made her suffer from a lack of concentration and fatigue.

Now, Ms Kelly has tried to sue the DWP, where she worked for almost 20 years, for disability discrimination and wrongful dismissal at an employment tribunal.

However, she lost her case as a judge ruled that any side effects she may have suffered did not ‘adversely’ impact her work.

Newcastle Employment Tribunal Centre heard Ms Kelly started working for the DWP in 2003 and was ‘well regarded’ by her bosses in the city.

The hearing was told that in June 2020 she ceased taking HRT after a five year course of treatment.

As a result she said she suffered from difficulty sleeping, poor memory and concentration, hot flushes, night sweats, joint pain, head aches, digestive problems, fatigue, insecurity and anxiety.

The tribunal heard as part of her work, she had access to a ‘powerful’ government database called Searchlight and that DWP employees are told the ‘rule number one’ is that it must not be misused.

A tribunal report said: ‘In the course of her work, Ms Kelly had access to and was required to use a powerful database of information about almost everyone in the country or, at least, everyone with a national insurance number.

‘Unsurprisingly, the DWP enforces strict rules about the proper use of this database and monitors employees for compliance.

‘The misuse of this database was absolutely prohibited.’

Explaining why the rules are so strict, the DWP’s John McPherson, who sacked Ms Kelly, gave the tribunal an example of ‘looking up a footballer or celebrity’ and said staff could be ‘coerced or induced’ to give out their sensitive information.

On September 17, 2020, Ms Kelly misused the system by searching her own address, claiming she thought their was an issue with the system so was checking if it worked.

The breach was caught and in November 2020 she was given a warning.

However, just days before, on October 30, 2020, she searched her neighbour’s address.

A tribunal report said: ‘Ms Kelly has always stated that she had no recollection of doing so but does not deny that she did.

‘Notwithstanding she accepts she made the search, she has not advanced any explanation.’

She was called to a disciplinary hearing in December 2020, by which time she was off sick, and was fired for gross misconduct in February 2021.

Mr McPherson concluded: ‘The degree/impact of menopausal symptoms Louise experienced did not in my opinion affect the actions she undertook.

‘By this her actions were not a mistake, or because of poor concentration or forgetfulness. She took a predetermined/premeditated action when entering her neighbour’s address and postcode into the Department’s Searchlight (CIS) IT system.’

At the employment tribunal, Ms Kelly claimed she had been discriminated against on grounds of her disability and wrongfully dismissed.

She argued the second search ‘was a genuine accident in light of the cessation of her HRT medication in June’.

A tribunal report added: ‘Ms Kelly went on to explain that she had not made anyone aware of her symptoms and that she stoically ‘just comes in and tries her best’ and did not discuss private health matters at work.

‘She said that it was only… when she was invited to the meeting concerning the second search, that any connection between her menopausal symptoms and the searches had manifested itself to her.’

The DWP maintained that ‘there was no exculpatory explanation at all’ and dismissal was the only option.

Dismissing Ms Kelly’s case, Employment Judge Jonathan Rodger said: ‘It is clear to us that the Searchlight system is a powerful database which is open to abuse.

‘It contains private financial and health information about almost every adult in the country.

‘Access to it is available to a large number of relatively low level employees.

‘The temptation to give way to prurient curiosity is bound to be strong.

‘The risk of something worse is serious: employees are at risk of being coerced or bribed to obtain information at the behest of third parties with bad motives.

‘It is obvious to us that it is essential to have a robust policy to counter such temptations and risks and we have found that the DWP quite properly does so.

‘Mr McPherson described it as the number one rule which is impressed upon everyone when they join the department and repeatedly thereafter that information is not to be abused.

‘This was spelled out: employees must not look up themselves, their friends, their family or celebrities.

‘It was also clearly stated in multitudinous policy documents that this was the rule and that dismissal was the likely sanction for all but the slightest breach.

‘This might be described as harsh but we do not consider it is. We consider it is a necessary, proportionate and appropriate approach to the safeguarding by the state of the private data of its subjects.’

Judge Rodger said Ms Kelly may have suffered impairments as a result of her menopause but ruled they did not impact her work.