Woman who battled cancer ‘victimised’ by former employers

because of her cancer and then victimised for asking for reasonable adjustments to her working hours because of her illness.

The 59-year-old was diagnosed with stage four nonHodgkin lymphoma in July 2016. Her condition was so serious she brought forward her wedding due to the aggressive nature of the cancer.

She was then forced to cancel her honeymoon in Tenerife after her condition deteriorated.

Lyn underwent more than 320 hours of chemotherapy and eventually had stem cell and bone marrow treatment, as well as “the worst 10 minutes of my life” when the remaining cancer in her body was effectively burned away to allow further life-saving treatment to go ahead.

By July 2017 she was told she was in remission but that she would never be clear of cancer.

The written statement said: “The respondent was aware of the claimant’s disability and was provided with correspondence from her consultant during her employment about her treatment and reasonable adjustments were sought.”

The tribunal heard that Lyn was off work for almost a year. Prior to her illness she worked 21 hours a week at the bar.

The ruling added: “A year after her phased return to work Ms Edgar changed the claimant’s working pattern and imposed the new pattern without discussion or consultation.”

The tribunal also found a second company, trading under the same name, was “engineered” to get rid of Lyn.

The statement added: “The purported redundancy was a sham. There was no such redundancy.”

Lyn, who lives in Forfar, welcomed the tribunal’s decision.

She said: “It was never about the money. It was always about the principle. I was disgusted by my treatment but have been vindicated.”

Her solicitor, Ryan Russell of MML Legal, said: “She was awarded the payment for being unfairly dismissed, discriminated against because of her cancer and then victimised for asking for reasonable adjustments.

“These people should be utterly ashamed of themselves, Ms Edgar in particular. She blatantly discriminated against Lyn after surviving cancer.

“Her employer ignored medical advice, refused to make reasonable adjustments and watched her struggle. She then targeted her for asking for reasonable adjustments and dismissed her.

“She did not deserve this. We are now going to take action against her employers to obtain the monies awarded to her.”

The Burns Bar has been approached for comment.