A Welsh canoe polo star has been awarded nearly £150,000 after her boss ordered her to drive overnight from Germany to the UK for a meeting – which he did not bother to attend.

Bethan Littlewood, 29, was working as a personal trainer for Nuffield Health in Bridgend, a job she balanced with her athletic career, which had taken her to the 2023 Canoe Polo European Championships. She was in Germany to represent Great Britain at that tournament when she received the summons from her manager forcing her to drive through the night back to Wales.

She arrived on time for the meeting only to discover her boss was not there as he was “double booked”. This was the “last straw” for Ms Littlewood – who was already going through various problems at the workplace – and she decided to resign.

Ms Littlewood, a cancer survivor and a gold medallist at the 2019 championships, has now successfully sued Nuffield Health and received £149,017 in compensation.

The tribunal in Cardiff heard she had worked as a personal trainer with Virgin Active from 2015 before her employment was transferred to Nuffield Health in Bridgend the following year.

In 2022 she reported a manager, Declan Morris, to senior bosses because he had allegedly conducted a Ministry of Defence fitness test on someone who had an elevated blood pressure reading.

The tribunal heard she only decided to report the matter to higher-ups because of Mr Morris’ reaction when she voiced her concern to him. She claimed he reacted in a “hostile manner” and began withholding three hours of pay a week from her.

Ms Littlewood filed an internal bullying grievance against the manager but it was not upheld by bosses. This led to the personal trainer taking sick leave in 2023.

Also that year bosses gave Ms Littlewood a final written warning over an allegation she had claimed inflated pay. The employment tribunal would later find this allegation to be false.

In June 2023 she submitted a request for annual leave for the week of the tournament in September of that year. Mr Morris did not respond until September 7, declining the request on the basis that she was already on sick leave.

Ms Littlewood had already travelled to Germany for the competition when she was told by another manager, James Cheadle, that he “required her attendance” at a meeting at 1pm on September 12.

Employment Judge Samantha Moore said the athlete was “very conscious she was on a final written warning” and so drove back through the night from Germany to make sure that she was at the meeting.

But when she reported to Nuffield Health reception she was advised that Mr Cheadle was not there. He was “double booked” and attending a training session in Newbury.

Judge Moore slammed the company’s treatment of Ms Littlewood, concluding: “To refuse leave requested months earlier, knowing what competing meant to the claimant, and require her to attend a meeting and then not bother to turn up, was contemptuous and wholly unreasonable.”

The judge found Ms Littlewood was entitled to take annual leave during sick leave. The personal trainer felt she was fit for work but Nuffield Health had not properly engaged with her about returning.

The disciplinary allegations should “never have been escalated to the degree they were”, said Judge Moore, who added that it was “wholly unreasonable” for the company to accuse Ms Littlewood of dishonesty relating to the pay rates for classes.

The company’s conduct “fundamentally breached the implied term of mutual trust and confidence” between the employer and the personal trainer, the judge ruled.

Following the ruling Nuffield Health told The Times it was “committed to providing a fair and supportive working environment for all colleagues, underpinned by clear policies and procedures”. The company declined to comment in further detail as it said the case was subject to appeal.

Ms Littlewood’s European gold medal in 2019 came after she had survived a cancer battle as a teenager. At the age of 15 she had been diagnosed with stage-three ovarian cancer which required two years of treatment.

According to The Times she has retired as a competitive canoe polo athlete but coaches the Danish women’s team. She has also joined the Royal Marines reserves.