PSNI: Emma Bond claims discrimination over 'perceived lack of resilience'

Emma Bond, pictured in 2020 when she was still working for the PSNI, claims she wanted to stay in Londonderry

A former senior police officer believed she was discriminated against due to a "perceived lack of resilience", an employment tribunal has heard.

Emma Bond has brought a sex discrimination case against the Police Service of Northern Ireland (PSNI).

The former chief superintendent had raised concerns about officers working from home during the pandemic.

She was then served a notice for potential misconduct and later moved from her role as district commander.

It is the PSNI's position that she was relocated from her Londonderry post amid concerns for her welfare.

Giving evidence at the tribunal, Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton said he could see the "very strong impact" that the potential misconduct case had had on Ms Bond.

He said: "We saw an impact upon Emma of a very difficult circumstance. Those of us who have been under investigation know it's very difficult."

He said he was aware of an occasion when Ms Bond had become upset in the chief constable's office and that "may have influenced [his] view on her resilience".

But he added that he did not believe Ms Bond's gender had any bearing on her resilience.

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Counsel for Ms Bond told the tribunal that a perceived lack of resilience was attributed to her because she was female - a position the PSNI rejects.

In a previous sitting of the tribunal, Chief Constable Simon Byrne said the decision to relocate Ms Bond to the police training college in Belfast had been based on concerns for her welfare, as well as her professional advancement.

Ms Bond had raised concerns about officers failing to report for duty during a short period early in the pandemic - at a time when they believed they could be on standby at home.

After confronting them and delivering a "rollicking", complaints were made against her.

She was served a regulation 16 notice for potential misconduct. However, this was subsequently withdrawn after an independent review found it could not be upheld.

'Accurate understanding'

A decision was made to relocate Ms Bond by senior PSNI commanders during a meeting in September 2020, several months after she raised her concerns.

The tribunal heard that the deputy chief constable had chosen not to tell the meeting that the misconduct notice had been withdrawn at that point.

Deputy Chief Constable Mark Hamilton rejected a claim that he wanted Ms Bond moved out of the district

Mr Hamilton said he did not believe it was appropriate to discuss such matters at the meeting, which was reserved for discussing job transfers and appointments.

He told the tribunal he wanted to inform Ms Bond that she had been exonerated first.

However, despite knowing that the regulation 16 notice had been rescinded and not informing the meeting as such, he told those in attendance that the notice had been damaging to Ms Bond.

It was put to him that it had been incumbent on him to ensure that those at the meeting had "an accurate and balanced understanding" of the issues around the misconduct notice, and that he had chosen not to reveal that the notice had been withdrawn because he was "motivated to have [Ms Bond] moved out of the district" because of the concerns she had been raising.

Mr Hamilton rejected this, saying it "was not the case whatsoever".

He added that he endorsed Ms Bond's concerns that she had raised, which touched on homeworking and issues around overtime.

Asked whether the outcome of the meeting, at which it was decided Ms Bond would be relocated, would have been any different had she been a man, Mr Hamilton said he did not believe so.