Pensioner forced to pay £3,500 in compensation to carer for constructive dismissal because her hours were cut when his wife died
- - George Lomas, 77, was taken to employment tribunal by Jayne Wakefield
- - Carer's hours were cut from 30 hours to 16 after Mr Lomas's wife Rose died
- - Ms Wakefield said she was forced to resign
- - Judge rules carer was unfairly treated and orders pensioner to pay £3,500
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A grieving pensioner has been forced to pay thousands of pounds in compensation to his carer who sued him for constructive dismissal after her hours were cut, because his wife died.
George Lomas, 77, was told at the funeral of his wife Rose that he would be taken to an employment tribunal by carer Jayne Wakefield.
The 55-year-old, who Mr Lomas said he had treated 'like a daughter', resigned after having her hours cut when Mr Lomas’s wife Rose, 76, passed away earlier this year.
Grieving: Pensioner George Lomas, 77, has been forced to pay thousands of pounds in compensation to his carer who sued him for constructive dismissal when her hours were cut after the death of his wife Rose
Trusting: Mr Lomas said that wife Rose, who died earlier this year, would have been 'turning in her grave' if she had known about the request for money
East Cheshire Council paid Ms Wakefield for working 30 hours a week over five years to care for Mrs Lomas who had Parkinson’s disease.
But she quit and launched legal proceedings against the frail pensioner after her hours were slashed to 16 when Mrs Lomas died on March 4.
Shockingly, the grandfather-of-one said Ms Wakefield approached him the day after his wife’s funeral on March 13, demanding redundancy money.
Mr Lomas still offered to pay Ms Wakefield for the reduced hours for his care but she claimed she was forced to resign on March 20 after 'nothing was put in writing'.
On Friday a Birmingham employment tribunal awarded Ms Wakefield £3,569 in compensation for constructive dismissal after a judge agreed she was unfairly treated.
Mr Lomas will now have to stump up the bill as although Ms Wakefield had been employed by the council for five years, it stopped paying for Mrs Lomas's care following her death.
As Mr Lomas paid her privately for his own care between March 4 and March 20 he was classed as her employer.
The retired accountant was order to pay £1,097.65 damages for breach of contract for failing to notify termination of her employment.
He was also told he must pay a further £2,472.62 in redundancy payments.
Speaking in the the wake of the decision, Mr Lomas said his wife would be turning in her grave and that his own health had suffered badly as a result of the case.
Mr Lomas, from Scholar Green, Cheshire, said: 'I was in another world when my wife died - and then this went and happened.
'Rose would be turning in her grave if she knew what was going on, she even had the cheek to come to us after the funeral and ask for redundancy money.
'It’s unreal - we treated her like a daughter and she has betrayed us.
'At Rose’s funeral, she was telling everyone she was going to look after me, then the next day she was asking for redundancy money.
'My wife would be heartbroken because she trusted Jayne. We never thought she would do that.
'It’s ruined my health. I’ve had an outbreak of Parkinson’s and a mini-stroke.
'My doctor told me it has been brought on by the stress of this case.
'To contact me the day after I lost my wife, is disgusting.
Not responsible: Cheshire East Council said that as Mr Lomas was not in receipt of adult care services from the council it was not liable
for claims made via the tribunal
'And when she pushed a letter through the door saying she was suing me - my world fell apart.
'I will never forgive her. How was I supposed to give notice?
'You don’t have notice when your wife is going to die.'
The father-of-one said he does not know how he will now afford to pay the compensation and accused the council of 'washing their hands of the issue'.
He added: 'I can’t understand how I’m liable.
'The council employed her for five years but because I paid her privately for my care between March 4 and March 20 I am now classed as her employer.
'The council have just completely washed their hands of it.
'I’m on a company and state pension - but I just haven’t got the money to pay for this.'
Ms Wakefield, also from Scholar Green, Cheshire, was paid by Cheshire East Council who had funded Mrs Lomas’s care.
But these funds stopped when the pensioner died.
An employment tribunal in June this year rejected Ms Wakefield’s claims after she failed to turn up at court but she has now won on appeal.
Tribunal judge Kendrick Horne said: 'This is a sad case.
'It is never pleasant to see a fall-out after a good working relationship between carer and family.
'But there is no criticism of the family.'
Both Mr Lomas, and Ms Wakefield live in Scholar Green, Cheshire (pictured). Mrs Lomas's care had been paid for by East Cheshire
Council, but these funds were stopped when she died
A council spokesman said that Ms Wakefield’s employment was not their responsibility.
He said 'Mr Lomas has not been in receipt of adult care services from Cheshire East Council.
'His care arrangements, therefore, were a private matter and the council is not liable for claims made via an employment tribunal.'
Mr Lomas's son Adrian, 44, represented his father at the tribunal, giving evidence on his behalf, and explained why the pensioner had been liable to pay the amount awarded to Ms Wakefield.
He said: 'I told them how we had offered Jayne - who had proved to be a diligent and competent carer - £8 an hour to carry on helping dad as he needed supporting after mum's death.
'She agreed with this and carried on working - everything seemed fine and she was very good at her job.
Entitled: Jayne Wakefield's husband Leslie said that the carer had been given the redundancy money she was entitled to
'But her claim came out of the blue two weeks later saying she would take court action if she wasn't paid redundancy money.
'She said she had got in touch with ACAS [Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service] who informed her she was entitled to redundancy pay.
'Because the council had stopped the funding and dad had since invited her into his home and offered her work and paid her for that work - we were now viewed as her employer.
'It was as black and white as that and the judge ruled that she get paid five weeks notice from the date of mum's death and the rest of the fee was five years worth of redundancy pay.
'This is despite the council employing her during this time.
'But as her current employers - we were liable.
'When social services stopped funding mum's care, in the eyes of the law that contract was effectively torn up and we re-negotiated that contract with Jayne.'
Ms Wakefield - who is a self employed carer - was unavailable for comment, however, her husband Leslie, 59, said his wife was entitled to the compensation money.
'She's been given the redundancy money which she is entitled to - and that's the end of the story,' he said from outside the couple's home.
'People die. Husbands die, children die, wives die - it happens, I'm afraid.
'Mr Lomas was Jayne's employer - it is as simple as that.
'I don't think it's a large bill - he's sitting on loads of premium bonds anyway.'
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