Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Sexual assault victim sacked after taking 'too many sick days' in the run-up to her attacker’s trial

The woman worked as a call handler for HMRC who claim they were not aware 'her absences may be linked to the serious sexual assault'

Jon Sharman
Friday 19 January 2018 22:23 GMT
Comments
The woman had worked for HMRC for two-and-a-half years (file photo)
The woman had worked for HMRC for two-and-a-half years (file photo) (iStock)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

A sexual assault victim has claimed she was sacked after taking too many sick days in the run-up to her attacker’s trial.

The 48-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, was assaulted by Jason Okwara, who was jailed for nine-years last month for the rape of two women and sexual assault another.

Jailing him the High Court in Glasgow, a judged said the evidence was "disturbing in the sense that you clearly believed that you were entitled to sexual intercourse with women whenever you wanted it, whether the women were willing or not."

One of his victims has now claimed that she lost her job as a call handler at Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) because she took too many sick days as a result of the trial.

The cancer survivor had taken 79 days’ sickness absence in the year to September 2017.

She told the Scotland's Daily Record newspaper that she had told her manager about the case and the effect it was having on her mental health.

“At the start of last year, I was told I would have to give evidence at Okwara’s trial in November," she said. “I was very worried about it and my health and work suffered even more."

She added: “I told my line manager about the case and the effect it was having on me – something the HMRC are now denying.”

The woman who worked for HMRC for two-and-a-half years said had later received a dismissal letter which said that she“did not advise her absences may be linked to the serious sexual assault."

An HMRC spokesperson said: “We do not comment on individual staff members. We are committed to treating all our staff fairly and with consideration at all times"

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in