Former Leeds Beckett employee ordered to pay £20,000 after parking row

An ex-employee of Leeds Beckett University has been ordered to pay the university £20,000 in costs after taking her former employer to employment tribunal.

Amanda Barrow, who had been employed as a learning technologist at the university, claimed Leeds Beckett had discriminated against her by removing her parking privileges. 

Amanda struggles with agoraphobia, a fear of entering open or crowded spaces. The university provides parking permits for disabled staff members. Their policy states:   “Staff with a disability or occupational health need should apply online.

“Applicants for Occupational Health permits are required to pay, and must have been recommended for a permit by the Leeds Beckett Occupational Health team before applying online.

“Occupational Health permits will be issued for a period of no more than one year at a time. Allocation of a permit in any one year should not be taken as a guarantee of eligibility in future years.”

Amanda used to receive an Occupational Health permit for parking at the university. It was arranged through an annual call with Occupational Health to see if she still needed the parking space. 

However, from 2013, Amanda “mostly worked from home” and as of 2020, her role required her to only visit campus four times a year. Her permit expired during March 2020 and had never been renewed. 

In April 2023, she requested a parking space in line with the ad hoc arrangement to secure staff parking. In this request, she admitted her orange pass “expired during lockdown”. 

Amanda’s request was granted.  However, in April 2024, her parking request was denied because the car park was already full. She replied that the parking space was necessary for her disability so the university provided her a spot on a one-time basis. 

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After being granted a space, Amanda complained that:

“When I worked onsite, I had a permanent parking place organised by OH [occupational health] for 36 years without a break. Now I work at home I need a parking space occasionally. However, you have made it clear in your email that this is not to be the case.

“It is of some concern to be that people without disability have priority over those that do. I don’t need a blue badge for anything else and as I said, I have had onsite parking for 36 years without a break until Covid.

“I’m sorry but I don’t think it’s unreasonable for me to have onsite parking for the odd event, when I used to take up a place full time.”

The university apologised and promised to look into her situation. They also allowed her to book her space a week ahead of most people to enable her to secure a parking spot on campus. 

However, Amanda went on sick leave that May and resigned shortly after. She later took Leeds Beckett to an employment tribunal in Sheffield, claiming indirect disability discrimination and failure to make reasonable adjustments. 

Judge Andrew James dismissed her claims, saying: 

“[Amanda] retained the option of applying for an annual pass; she was reminded of that in April 2023. She declined to make an application. Had she done so, the matters which gave rise to these allegations may well never have arisen.”

Amanda was subsequently ordered to pay back £20,000 in costs. 

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