4 day week furore | Father awarded £20k after colleagues gossiped about his flexible hours

A father has won over £20,000 in compensation after colleagues joked and “gossiped” about his flexible working hours, which were designed to help him care for his baby daughter.

Mr Courtney Rawlins, a former delivery driver for DPD Group UK Ltd, brought claims of harassment related to his sex, arguing that gossip from colleagues and negative comments from management about his reduced hours created a hostile working environment.

The tribunal, held in Bristol, heard that Rawlins had been granted flexible working hours following the birth of his daughter in March 2022. His request, which was approved in January 2022, allowed him to work four days a week instead of five, taking Fridays off to spend time with his child. However, after returning from paternity leave in April 2022, Rawlins claimed that his new working pattern led to unfair treatment from both colleagues and managers.

One of the key issues in the case was a breach of confidentiality by DPD, which allowed details of Rawlins’ flexible working arrangement to be disclosed to colleagues. This led to gossip within the workplace, with some colleagues complaining that it was unfair that Rawlins was allowed to work fewer days.