Accountant Fired After Falsely Accusing Colleagues of Stalking Ruled to Have Fabricated Claims

An accountant who accused her colleagues of stalking after being asked to attend a work meeting in person has had her claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination dismissed by an employment tribunal. Tanya Langston, formerly of Historic England, made a series of claims against ten colleagues, alleging they were part of a conspiracy against her and that her manager was stalking her via Skype and a dating app.

In a ruling, Employment Judge Andrew Midgley concluded that Langston's accounts "reflected a deliberate, contrived and calculated plan to tarnish" her colleagues. He stated, "each of those allegations was fabricated, had absolutely no factual basis capable of justifying them, that [Ms Langston] knew that, and that she deployed them with two intentions: First to distract and if possible to defeat the misconduct allegations and performance issues, and secondly to cause as much difficulty and distress as possible for her work colleagues."

Langston joined Historic England, a public body focused on preserving England's historic environment, in 2018. By late 2022, it became apparent she was making significant errors in her work as an Assistant Systems Accountant, despite receiving additional support. These errors included sending duplicate welcome letters to clients and entering incorrect email addresses.

In March 2023, managers decided to initiate performance management due to Langston's resistance and lack of engagement when issues were raised or when staff attempted to train her. In May 2023, she sent inappropriate messages on Microsoft Teams to Matthew Ulyatt, the head of finance. These messages included random greetings, MS Paint drawings of an octopus and a Gameboy character, and text messages she deleted before they could be read. Langston later claimed she was bored and not allocated enough work, but Ulyatt deemed the messages inappropriate, leading to them being classified as a formal conduct issue.

During a subsequent performance review meeting, Langston became hostile and passive-aggressive, believing the team was intentionally withholding work from her. She was suspended in May 2023, responding with a threat that the process would not be difficult for her, but she would ensure it was a difficult time for them.

Following her suspension, Langston filed a grievance, claiming her employment might be part of a larger harassment or stalking problem. She also completed a bullying and harassment form, alleging a conspiracy among ten colleagues. An investigation was launched, during which Langston claimed the alleged stalking was online, affected her family, and included being required to attend the May 2023 performance meeting in person, which she stated could be a method of exerting control.

During the investigation, Langston elaborated, asserting that Ulyatt had matched with her on a dating app and that she had spoken to individuals on Skype whom she believed to be managers due to similar voices. However, she admitted she had no evidence to support these claims and did not know if the Skype users even worked for Historic England. The investigation concluded in July 2023, finding no evidence of stalking and suggesting the claims may have been malicious.

The disciplinary investigation into Langston resumed. She received a warning for her inappropriate messages but was allowed to return to work. However, her colleagues expressed grave concerns about working with her, citing the unsubstantiated and unevidenced allegations, including stalking reports to the police. The tribunal found that the relationship between Langston and her team had irretrievably broken down.

Langston was dismissed in February 2024, and her subsequent appeal was upheld. She then sued Historic England for unfair dismissal and discrimination, but her claims were dismissed by the Bristol Employment Tribunal. The tribunal found that her dismissal was not an act of direct discrimination, discrimination arising from disability, or harassment related to disability.