Bailiff who took emotional support dog on jobs loses discrimination case

A bailiff who took her miniature yorkshire terrier on debt collection jobs has lost her case for discrimination after being told she was not entitled to have an emotional support dog at work.

Bella would accompany Deborah Cullingford, a county court bailiff operating in the Leeds area, to help with the stress of the job and the aftermath of three bouts of cancer. When colleagues spotted Bella in Cullingford’s car, she was told by management that as Bella was not a guide dog, she could not continue to take her on jobs.

She eventually resigned and accused her employers of disability discrimination by failing to make “reasonable adjustments” for her position. The tribunal in Manchester heard that Cullingford had been employed as a county court bailiff since 2010 before getting Bella 10 years later.

In 2021, she was diagnosed with cancer for a third time and was on sick leave for nearly three months before returning to work full-time the following year.

During a mental health consultation with her employers, Cullingford explained her work was “difficult”, she worked alone a lot and that she found it “reassuring and calming” to have Bella with her.

She later filed a formal application to register her dog as an emotional support dog and wanted a letter from her GP which would say: “My dog enables me to work more effectively and focus more easily. I use my dog to talk things through with, this helps me process things that are going on and helps me relax. Having my dog with me enables me to work more effectively and I value being able to work.

“I strongly believe having my dog as my emotional support can only be a benefit to my mental health and wellbeing and maintain my ability to work to my fullest capacity.”

However, in April 2022 the bailiff was informed Bella had been banned from joining her on jobs and told: “Emotional support dogs and therapy dogs are not protected in law and it is down to each organisation to decide.”

Cullingford appealed against this decision and obtained a statement from her GP which said she would “pour out her feelings to Bella”. The tribunal heard how she maintained Bella was “the reason why she did not end her life when she felt depressed [and] could barely face the day”.

In 2023, Cullingford resigned as she felt she was “unable to continue” working and sued the Ministry of Justice, which is responsible for the county court service.

Judge Rebecca Eeley dismissed her claim. She acknowledged that it had been “a very difficult and distressing time” for Cullingford and at times her bosses “did not evidence the kind of care and compassion that the tribunal might have expected to see in a case of this sort”.

But the judge ruled that the bailiff’s managers had “legitimate concerns to look at in terms of confidentiality, security of the vehicle, health and safety, risk of escape or interaction with the public”.

She added: “We would consider it not to be a reasonable adjustment in the circumstances of this case.”