A worker has won a harassment claim after her boss sent her photos of the girl from The Exorcist foaming at the mouth after she suffered a seizure at work.

Team leader, at Chatham-based mhs homes, Lisa Gilbert would also regularly call Charlene Friend “Regan” after the young woman possessed by a demon in the 1973 horror film, an employment tribunal heard.

The hearing, held in October in South Croydon, was told that the name-calling started in July 2021 after Miss Friend suffered her first seizure at work and was rushed to hospital.

She was diagnosed with dissociative seizures - episodes where she cannot control her body, her eyes roll up and flicker and she has speech difficulties - due to “delayed psychological trauma and mental health issues”.

The customer liaison officer had already sustained cognitive impairments after she was attacked by a violent gang who stabbed her in the head in 2014 which also left her with PTSD and anxiety.

The tribunal was told Ms Gilbert continued the name-calling and in September 2021, sent Miss Friend a text which included The Exorcist film poster and a still of the girl foaming at the mouth and levitating in bed.

In her witness statement, Miss Friend said: “I felt terrible when she would call me this name, I am a Christian and I take spiritual matters very seriously, I believe in demonic possession and when she would tell me I needed an exorcism it broke my heart.

“I have not been able to attend my church meetings because of my seizures and the fear of how I look.

“When she would tell me I needed an exorcism it broke my heart…”

“To now denote that I had some type of evil spirit in me, this has remained with me and psychologically, I cannot get past it.”

It was concluded that the behaviour was “unwanted and offensive” and “completely inappropriate, particularly from a line manager.”

Employment Judge Tsamados added: “We can well imagine how hurtful and distressing the claimant would find this, particularly given the seizures that she was experiencing.”

They were also told that Ms Gilbert had told Miss Friend that “people with mental health issues and people who commit suicide are attention seekers.”

Miss Friend joined mhs homes in 2018 but started to struggle the following year when she was given a new role despite asking for adjustments and support for her disability.

In September 2020, she said she overheard a conversation where her boss called her “lazy” and “incapable of doing her job”.

This caused Miss Friend to leave the office upset and on the same afternoon, she contacted her doctor and was signed off work for seven weeks.

When she returned, her work was reviewed, and the tribunal heard that she was not managing her time well.

She was again signed off work in April 2022 and did not return leading to her being let go in February 2024 on health grounds.

Following the tribunal, Miss Friend won claims for disability discrimination, harassment and failure to make reasonable adjustments but lost claims that her dismissal was discriminatory and unfair.

Chief executive at mhs homes, Ashley Hook, said: “We deeply regret that Miss Friend was subjected to this behaviour and would like to sincerely apologise for the distress caused to her and her family. The manager involved hasn’t worked for us since 2022.

“At mhs homes, we’re committed to creating a culture and work environment where all colleagues are treated with dignity and respect. We have a zero-tolerance approach to discrimination, harassment, or inappropriate behaviour of any kind.

“Since this happened, we have introduced new training for all managers and staff, improved our policies and procedures and we are continuing to promote and increase the support that is available to colleagues.

“Fair and respectful treatment is a right and we want everyone who works here to feel valued and safe.”