Male officers paid £22k in sex discrimination case

Two male officers have been awarded more than £22,000 after an employment tribunal ruled they had been discriminated against because of their gender.

The Suffolk Police officers were removed from the constabulary's South Kestrel Policing Team on 4 March 2024 before being replaced by two female officers.

According to documents seen by the BBC, Mr R Ford and Mr L Woodward were displaced due to an "operational need" for the team to have a gender balance - a move the force has since said "was not the right way to go about it".

Judge M Warren concluded both officers had been victims of direct sex discrimination and told the force to apologise and pay them £11,483.28 each.

"One could not call what happened here not serious. On the other hand, it is not overt racism or sexism, in that sense, one could not call it serious either," the judge said.

The two officers were part of a team that was based in Ipswich and tasked with responding to incidents ranging from serious violence and robbery to theft.

In October 2023, the group was made up of a sergeant and six police constables, all of which were male following the departure of a female constable in 2022.

The force decided more female officers were needed on the team to help "enhance delivery" of actions such as female strip searches and engagement with vulnerable women and girls.

This approach was initially accepted by the force's human resources department and the Police Federation of England and Wales before the plan was explained to the team in November 2023.

The human resources department later pushed back on the decision, however instead of filling the vacancy left by the female constable the force removed the two male officers.

The two officers were given different roles and replaced with female officers, which the tribunal ruled was "direct sex discrimination".

Suffolk Police previously said it accepted the judgement and would ensure that "this isolated incident is never repeated".

"We are committed to maintaining a fair and supportive working environment for all colleagues with professionalism and accountability at the heart of everything we do."

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