‘Association’ | Worker unfairly sacked after wife attempted to kill boss with hammer, tribunal rules

An ambulance trust was wrong to sack a worker after her wife attempted to kill their manager over an argument about shifts, a tribunal has found.

Paula Smith and her then-wife, Stacey Smith, both worked for the North West Ambulance Service Trust (NWAS) and had a long-standing dispute with operations manager Michala Morton over their work schedules.

Stacey Smith waited outside the home of Morton before starting a “frenzied” attack with a hammer, causing her manager life-altering injuries. Following her arrest, she was handed a 20-year prison sentence after being found guilty of attempted murder.

Paula Smith was initially arrested on suspicion of harassing and attempting to kill Morton. Ultimately, no action was taken after it was found that she did not know of her wife’s plans.