'Flatulent' Bristol bus driver loses discrimination case after colleague complains of bad smell

A bus driver sued her employer for discrimination after being accused of flatulence so bad that a colleague had to wash her uniform.

Stephanie Bryan caused an "episode" at work after producing "significant flatulence" while at the wheel of a bus, a tribunal heard.

When fellow driver Samantha Bingham started her shift, the smell led her to conclude that Ms Bryan had farted so much that she soiled herself.

Upon returning home, Ms Bingham was asked by her partner if she had defecated, and she needed to wash her clothes due to the stench, the tribunal heard.

Asked about the odour by Ms Bingham, Ms Bryan responded with "everyone needs to fart", it heard.

Ms Bryan, who failed her probation with bus operator The Big Lemon, sued for disability discrimination and harassment.

She argued that she was discriminated against due to bladder issues, but the Bristol Employment Tribunal dismissed her claims.

An employment judge ruled the complaints were unrelated to her health, finding them "consistent with faecal matter potentially caused by significant flatulence which had led to soiling".

Ms Bryan worked as a bus driver for the firm from September 2024 until her dismissal in January 2025. It is understood she was based in the Bristol area.

She had been diagnosed with depression, borderline personality disorder and bladder weakness, but had not informed the bus company of her conditions.

She was placed on a three-month probation when she started working but this was extended because of "concerns regarding her performance".

During the review meeting, Ms Bryan was told about issues around her "personal hygiene" but these were approached "sensitively and appropriately in private".

In January 2025, her colleague Ms Bingham, who was also a bus driver, became aware of a strong smell coming from the cab of the bus that Ms Bryan had been driving.

The tribunal heard: "[Ms Bingham] became aware of a significant odour whilst working in proximity to [Ms Bryan] and genuinely believed the odour emanated from [her].

"She had sat in the driver’s seat of the bus used by [Ms Bryan] shortly before she commenced her duties on the bus.

"The Tribunal accepts the evidence of [Ms Bingham] that the odour was consistent with faecal matter potentially caused by significant flatulence which had led to soiling and was not associated with urine or urinary incontinence.

"Later that day [Ms Bingham] briefly mentioned what had happened to her line manager... and indicated she might have to raise it with [Ms Bryan].

"The episode had been so significant that when [Ms Bingham] returned home that evening her partner asked her whether she had in fact soiled herself.

"She was obliged to remove all her clothing and place them in the washing machine and she then immediately took a shower.

"The Tribunal accepts the evidence of [Ms Bingham] as to the following day and it is not in dispute that the conversation between her and [Ms Bryan] was itself directed towards the causes of flatulence and digestive issues.

"The discussion included references to the ordinary consequences of consuming particular foods and was not directed towards bladder weakness. [Ms Bryan] agreed that that was the nature of the conversation."

The tribunal heard Ms Bryan reacted "negatively" and with "hostility" about the issues raised.

It was heard that Ms Bryan told Ms Bingham: "Everyone needs to fart and let out gasses.”

She was fired at her probation review because the company felt she had "failed satisfactorily to complete her probationary period" due to poor driving standards.

Her personal hygiene was discussed at her dismissal meeting, but the tribunal ruled it was the concerns around her driving that were the leading force in her sacking.

Employment Judge Jonathan Walters ruled that Ms Bryan was not discriminated against or harassed.

Judge Walters said: "The Tribunal is satisfied that the [Ms Bingham] was raising a genuine workplace concern with [Ms Bryan].

"Unfortunately, [she] reacted negatively to the conversation and with a degree of personal hostility towards [Ms Bingham].

"There is absolutely no evidence before the Tribunal that [she] had any knowledge of the claimed disabilities nor ought she reasonably to have known about them.

"Furthermore, there was absolutely no information known to [her] from which she ought to have appreciated that what she smelt related to the claimed disabilities.

"Indeed, the Tribunal finds that the odour had nothing to do with bladder weakness or her other disabilities.

"The actions of [Ms Bingham] were unrelated to disability and were not motivated by disability.

"The Tribunal also finds that [she] was genuinely and reasonably concerned by the situation she found herself in and properly and reasonably raised these matters with the line manager.

"She had attempted to address them with [Ms Bryan] whose reaction was not conducive to resolution and, therefore, she had no option but to raise the matter with management as the situation which occurred was indeed detrimental both to her and to the business itself."

Judge Walters said that Ms Bryan was not dismissed due to her disabilities.

He said: "The Tribunal does not find that the dismissal arose because of any consequence of [Ms Bryan’s] depression, borderline personality disorder or bladder weakness.

"Rather, the dismissal occurred because management genuinely and reasonably concluded that [she] had failed satisfactorily to complete her probationary period.

"[Her manager] did not know about the disabilities nor could he reasonably have been expected to know about them."