An NHS employee has won £41,000 after allegedly being excluded from a tea round amid workplace bullying accusations. Diabetes specialist nurse Susan Hamilton had a 'difficult relationship' with colleague and dietician Abdool Nayeck which came to a head in 2018 following a disagreement over patient response.
While the dispute was formally resolved with management at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, Mr Nayeck's behaviour allegedly 'became notably dismissive' from that point onwards. Mrs Hamilton complained that he would 'treat her differently', 'ignoring morning greetings from her' and 'facing the other way' in meetings.
It was also around this time that Mr Nayeck reportedly 'stopped making tea for her' despite making drinks for other team members. HR eventually called a meeting in 2019 to mediate their dispute and, while the pair agreed to 'communicate in a civil manner', Mrs Hamilton alleged that Mr Nayeck was 'dismissive' from the outset.
At an employment tribunal in Croydon, south London, Mrs Hamilton said: "From the outset of the meeting [Mr Nayeck] was dismissive of me, stating again that he did not like me and was not interested in meaningful resolution. SF [the Mediator] did draw up a brief plan to move forward."
Less than a year later, Mr Nayeck then sent an email to bosses, alleging that Mrs Hamilton had ‘bullied’ him at work over the past two years. ‘Wider allegations’ were then made in a ‘fuller letter’ in the following months.
Bosses told Mrs Hamilton ‘there was no case to answer’, but outlined that ‘aspects of her behaviour could have contributed to Mr Nayeck feeling bullied’. Mrs Hamilton was reportedly ‘very upset on hearing this’ and claimed that ‘no clarity was provided about the aspects of her behaviour’ that may have allegedly worsened the situation.
Mrs Hamilton, who became a specialist nurse in 1986, was eventually signed off with stress in December, 2020 as the tribunal heard she 'was really struggling with her mental health'. While she returned to work in January 2021, she then resigned only a year later, citing her previous grievances and 'poor management by the trust' as key reasons why.
A resignation letter shown at the tribunal read: "I am today formally resigning from my post… due to, what I believe is, a breach of contract by the trust due to a total breakdown of trust and confidence, and thereby consider myself constructively dismissed."
It later added: "Certainly, no attempt has been made to ensure that ‘everything that can be done to support you becoming ready to return to work’, as advised in the Appeal Outcome letter.
"The apparent condoning by the trust of not following policies or procedures and cruel bullying behaviours is a clear breach of contract and makes my position untenable. The situation I have been put in by the trust has caused both significant stress and anxiety for which I have had to seek professional ongoing help. This has been caused as a direct consequence of the actions or and poor management by the trust."
Mrs Hamilton filed a formal grievance in relation to the trust’s handling of her concerns. This consisted of seven complaints, but only four were relevant to the subsequent tribunal proceedings.
Among these, Mrs Hamilton said the trust had ‘tolerated targeted and abusive behaviour towards her by Mr Nayeck’ (Allegation 2) and had failed to deal with an incident regarding the ‘theft’ of a book (Allegation 1).
The grievance also claimed that Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust ‘had ignored and failed to report threats of violence against her’ (Allegation 3) and failed to follow its ‘Respect’ policy (Allegation 4).
Only Allegation 3 was upheld while Allegations 1 and 4 were partially upheld. Meanwhile, Allegation 2 - regarding the alleged tolerance of abusive behaviour - was dismissed.
Mrs Hamilton appealed the outcomes of Allegations 1 and 2, to which the panel gave their outcome by letter. The 2021 document read: “It should also be noted that the panel’s view was that there had been clear attempts to manage the difficult relationship between you and your colleague over some years, and that trust had not tolerated targeted and abusive behaviour.
“This point could therefore not specifically be upheld; however the panel did understand Case Number: 2302014/2022 16 of 44 why you were not satisfied with the outcome from stage 2 [the Grievance] hearing given the length of time that it had taken to address these issues. The panel also acknowledged the impact that this had on your well-being.”
However, a later tribunal panel said the trust failed to take ‘adequate action’ over Mrs Hamilton’s concerns over a number of years. Mrs Hamilton has since been awarded £41,000 in compensation.
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