An office worker acted as a mythological “mermaid” to lure a colleague into doing her job for her, an employment tribunal heard.
Claire Rogers, 35, faced disciplinary action after she was caught sending assignments to her co-worker before presenting their work as her own.
He left his job at Motability in Harlow, Essex, ahead of the results of a disciplinary hearing into the matter, claiming the poor treatment he had received was the result of “unfounded allegations”.
Miss Rogers, whose Facebook page says she is engaged, later sued the organization for constructive dismissal, arguing that the interactions between her and the colleague, known as MS, were instigated by him.
But an employment judge dismissed their claim, saying the investigation into the couple’s behavior was fair.
EJ Suzanne Palmer said: ‘Based on the evidence gathered during the investigation, I find that there was sufficient evidence for (Motability) to consider that there was a disciplinary case to answer and give (Miss Rogers) the opportunity to explain her actions at a hearing disciplinary.’
Miss Rogers worked as a client case manager at Motability, which funds and supports transport for people with disabilities and provides charitable grants, the east London court heard.
In February last year, an investigation was launched into MS, who was a complaints case manager for another team. This related to the overtime he had claimed and led to emails between him and Miss Rogers being reviewed.
Claire Rogers, pictured, acted as a mythological ‘mermaid’ to lure a colleague into doing her job for her, an employment tribunal heard.
The 35-year-old faced disciplinary action after she was caught sending assignments to her co-worker before presenting their work as her own.
The tribunal panel noted: “Email correspondence between MS and (Miss Rogers)… showed that she was sending him tasks that were within her duties and was receiving emails from him of completed work.”
Over a six-month period, MS sent Miss Rogers 66 draft decision records relating to cases assigned to her, many of which she then uploaded to the organisation’s system.
Decision records were a key part of their role and involved approving or rejecting applications from members of the public who had requested support for their disabilities.
About six “samples” were checked and found to be “completely or almost identical to the draft sent to you by MS.”
MS often asked team leaders for additional work, “such as assisting case managers”, the court heard, but this was only allowed when he had the “capacity” to do so.
His immediate superior, Warren Smith, noted that MS had “a connection” with Miss Rogers, of Abridge, Essex, and was “willing to help wherever he could”.
Describing their relationship, Mr Smith said: “She’s a mermaid, like a mermaid on the rocks, and he’s always at his desk, helping her.”
Sirens are half-bird, half-woman creatures from ancient Greek mythology who lured sailors to their deaths with their enchanting songs. Later, they were associated and combined with mermaids, who are half woman and half fish.
Rogers resigned from his job at Motability (pictured) in Harlow ahead of the results of a disciplinary hearing into the matter.
MS was asked to “stop that” because she “doesn’t do her own work” and was told to stop going to Miss Rogers’ desk. They finally started communicating via email.
During an investigation into the emails, Miss Rogers said MS claimed he had no job and that she assigned him non-urgent tasks two or three times a week, which he “thought…was fine.”
He didn’t always agree with MS’s decisions on the decision records, he added, and “never uploaded anything he didn’t agree with.”
During the disciplinary hearing, he told his superiors: “In hindsight, I would never have accepted as much support as I did.”
Marathon runner Miss Rogers, who started with the company as a customer service manager in 2019, took time off work before the process was completed and handed in her notice in April 2023, complaining about “unfounded allegations against me” .
Miss Rogers, who was educated at Trinity Catholic High School in Woodford Green, whose former pupils include actress Tamsin Outhwaite and 2008 Olympic 400m champion Christine Ohuruogu, lives in a semi-detached house valued at around £580,000 .
She now works as a service advisor for Hills of Woodford Toyota, who recently described her role in an online post as “fostering relationships with our customers.”
She has declined to comment.