By Ryan Hooper
Western Morning News
DEVON, England — A paramedic who said she was forced to quit her job after rebuffing the sexual advances of a colleague has withdrawn the legal challenge against her former employers.
Caroline Pascoe, who had worked for the South Western Ambulance Service NHS Trust (SWAST) for 28 years, resigned from her job last January, saying there had been an orchestrated campaign to oust her.
Miss Pascoe lodged claims for sexual discrimination, unfair dismissal and breach of contract, as well as three allegations of sexual harassment against a male colleague — who cannot be named for legal reasons, despite an application to lift the reporting restrictions by the Western Morning News.
The tribunal was expected to last until next week, but was halted yesterday morning — before further evidence was heard — when legal teams met and the case was withdrawn.
In a statement released by the Trust yesterday, it said Miss Pascoe’s employment tribunal claim had been “withdrawn without any settlement and before the Trust was called upon to give its evidence”.
The statement added: “The Claimant’s evidence, presented over three days, failed on every level to substantiate the very serious allegations that had been lodged against the Trust and its employees.
“The service has always maintained that the allegations made were untrue and had no substance to them. In response to the overwhelming responsibility to protect public money and defend the excellent reputation of the Trust these allegations were vigorously and robustly defended.”
Miss Pascoe took her employers to a tribunal after saying she was forced out of her job for refusing to sleep with a male colleague two years earlier.
At the hearing in Truro, 46-year-old Miss Pascoe said the man propositioned her by text message. The colleague said he was staying in a plush hotel with a “fabulous big bedroom with a big bed”, the hearing was told. The text from the male colleague was said to continue: “It’s a waste without you. Why don’t you come back?” Miss Pascoe, who had split from her husband of 13 years shortly before the text message was allegedly sent to her phone, said she rebuffed the invitation, and subsequent ones.
But the Trust accused Miss Pascoe of attempting to blackmail the organisation into a compensation pay-out.
Barrister Caspar Glyn, representing the Trust, said the allegations were “a mendacious lie” designed to “protect her job and extort money from the service”, after Miss Pascoe had already received a final written warning with further disciplinary action pending.
Miss Pascoe said the final warning was for gross misconduct after carrying out-of-date drugs - an error for which male colleagues had gone unpunished.
Miss Pascoe’s legal team yesterday said its client would not be making any comment on the case, only that it had “ended”.
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