Athlete forced to travel 800 miles for meeting that boss didn't show up for wins £149,000

A significant story is unfolding on the international scene. Athlete forced to travel 800 miles for meeting that boss didn't show up for wins £149,0005 hours ago Share Save Add as preferred on GoogleCatriona AitkenBBC WalesBeth LittlewoodBeth Littlewood retired from competitive canoe polo in 2024 but continues to playAn athlete whose boss made her travel through the night to attend a meeting while she was at an international sports competition in Germany, only to not turn up himself, has said her £149,000 compensation is "not just about me". Beth Littlewood, a former canoe polo champion, spent years pursuing a string of grievances against Nuffield Health, the company she worked for as a personal trainer at its Bridgend gym. She said she hoped the outcome would help thousands of personal trainers (PTs) across the country.

Nuffield Health said it was "committed to providing a fair and supportive working environment for all colleagues" but could not comment further due to an appeal process. Littlewood, from Bridgend, first started working for Nuffield Health in 2015. In an interview with Wales following the conclusion of an employment tribunal, she said there were "multiple grievances throughout my career about pay-related issues".

The Details

Early problems were more easily resolved internally, but she later felt she had no choice but to escalate her case. In July last year, an employment tribunal found Littlewood's complaints were all "well-founded". These included concerns about unauthorised deductions from her wages and holiday pay and her unfair dismissal.

The published judgement detailed how, from June 2022, parts of Littlewood's pay were withheld. She submitted a grievance, which was not upheld and what followed, she said, was a series of bullying incidents, including changing rotas without clear communication, inconsistency in dealing with holiday requests, no praise for successful PT sales and a lack of promotion opportunities. In January 2023, she was told she would face disciplinary proceedings, with the firm claiming she had been submitting hours worked under an incorrect pay level, among other things.

But the tribunal found this was not the case, with the judge adding: "The incidents were in the main caused by poor communication and of a trivial nature to the degree that we have concluded a reasonable employer would have dealt with as management issues. "They should never have been escalated to the degree they were. Common sense was wholly departed from.

"David McBay/Paddle UKLittlewood represented herself during the employment tribunal against Nuffield HealthFollowing the disciplinary investigation, Littlewood had some time signed off sick. Over the summer of 2023, she made continued attempts to speak to managers about returning to work, but they did not engage with her. The "last straw" occurred when Littlewood travelled to Brandenburg, Germany, to compete in the European Canoe Polo Championships in September 2023.

The development has drawn wide international attention, with diplomatic circles watching closely.