A woman who claimed her ADHD contributed to difficulties in her role at a five-star hotel has been awarded more than £200,000 in compensation. Roberta Ghiotto was employed as a Talent and Culture Coordinator at Hawkwell House Hotel in Oxford from October 2023 until her dismissal in March 2024.
Despite lacking formal qualifications or prior experience in the field, Ms. Ghiotto was assigned HR responsibilities and placed on a three-month probationary period. A key part of her role involved completing payroll, a task she found particularly challenging due to her ADHD. She had informed her manager, hotel general manager Anuj Sagar, that she struggled with detail-oriented tasks and maintaining focus in a busy office environment.
Ms. Ghiotto alleged to the Reading Employment Tribunal that Mr. Sagar developed a prejudice against her and took an immediate dislike to her. Mr. Sagar, in turn, admitted to believing Ms. Ghiotto was being deliberately insubordinate. Due to errors in her payroll work, her probation period was extended by an additional three months.
In February 2024, Mr. Sagar instructed Ms. Ghiotto to concentrate solely on payroll duties for three days in a separate room, which had no telephone or window and was described as a former cupboard. During this period, Ms. Ghiotto struggled with the task, requiring assistance from an accountant and an extra day to complete it. It was during a meeting to discuss the time taken for payroll that she disclosed she had ADHD, although she had not yet received a formal diagnosis.
Ms. Ghiotto stated that Mr. Sagar told her he had consulted with Croner, a UK-based consultancy firm, and had been advised that he could dismiss her. She received a dismissal letter in March 2024, citing her failure to meet required standards during her probation.
Following her dismissal, Ms. Ghiotto reported experiencing a "deep depression" and sought medical attention. She expressed a profound sense of betrayal, stating, "Imagine knowing you have something about you, something different, which you need support with, and you communicate that to your line manager in a plea for help, but instead of any help or support being given, your line manager used that very thing as the reason to dismiss you." She described the emotional impact as "awful, soul-destroying, confidence-draining, and really affects your self-image and your self-worth."
Employment Judge Akua Reindorf KC ruled that Ms. Ghiotto did have ADHD and that Mr. Sagar was aware of her condition, even without a formal diagnosis. The tribunal found that Mr. Sagar's line of questioning suggested he had sought advice from Croner about whether a diagnosis was necessary before dismissing an employee with ADHD. The judge concluded it was likely this advice was based on the mistaken belief that a formal diagnosis was required for protection under the Equality Act.
Judge Reindorf KC also determined that the payroll task was specifically set up by Mr. Sagar to make Ms. Ghiotto fail, as the assigned workspace was unsuitable. "We reject his evidence that he was trying to support her. Rather, we think that he was attempting to build evidence to substantiate his view that she was not capable of the job," the judge stated. The tribunal's assessment was that Mr. Sagar had removed aspects of the job Ms. Ghiotto excelled at, leaving her to focus only on the most difficult tasks, without providing adequate training or support, other than placing her in an isolated room. The problems Ms. Ghiotto encountered were attributed to a combination of her ADHD, a lack of training and experience, incomplete data, procedural confusion, and workplace pressure.
Hawkwell House Hotel is managed by the Accor Group and is described as an "enchanting retreat" in a village setting. The hotel holds a 4.5-star rating on Google from over 2,000 guest reviews. Ms. Ghiotto was awarded £200,252 in compensation.