A London employment tribunal ruled that telling an employee their work is messy and contains mistakes is not harassment. The ruling came after HR manager Thomas Shevlin claimed his boss, Rebecca Roycroft, discriminated against and harassed him by criticizing his work, which he attributed to ADHD. The judge stated that managers need to identify weaknesses to improve performance and that Shevlin's response was unjustified.
Telling employee their work is messy is not harassment, London tribunal rules
Employment tribunalsEmployment lawUKLondon
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TL;DR: Key points with love ❤️A London employment tribunal ruled that telling an employee their work is messy and contains mistakes is not harassment. The ruling came after HR manager Thomas Shevlin claimed his boss, Rebecca Roycroft, discriminated against and harassed him by criticizing his work, which he attributed to ADHD. The judge stated that managers need to identify weaknesses to improve performance and that Shevlin's response was unjustified.
- 1 Thomas Shevlin started working at John Wiley & Sons in May 2022
- 2 Rebecca Roycroft's assessment in May 2023
- 3 Shevlin resigned and sued John Wiley for disability discrimination
- 4 Tribunal hearing in east London
- 5 Tribunal ruled criticism is not harassment
- The ruling reinforces that employers can provide feedback on performance weaknesses without it being considered harassment, even if the employee has a condition like ADHD, provided the intent is to improve performance.
What: A London employment tribunal ruled that criticizing an employee's messy work is not harassment or discrimination.
When: Ruling came this week (published June 24, 2025). Thomas Shevlin started working in May 2022, and the criticism occurred in May 2023.
Where: East London, UK.
Why: Thomas Shevlin claimed his boss's criticism of his work, which he attributed to ADHD, was discriminatory and harassing. The tribunal ruled that managers must be able to identify weaknesses for performance improvement.
How: An employment tribunal heard the case and delivered a ruling, dismissing the claims of discrimination and harassment.