NHS nurse left out of tea round wins constructive dismissal case

A “gifted” NHS nurse who was deliberately left out of a tea round by a colleague who said “I don’t like you” has won a claim for unfair constructive dismissal at an employment tribunal.

Diabetes specialist Susan Hamilton joined Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust in 2012 but resigned in January 2022 “as a direct consequence of the actions of, and poor management by, the trust”.

She cited “cruel bullying behaviours” by a colleague after a 2018 disagreement when she questioned his competency over a patient’s treatment.

Her claim stated that Abdool Nayeck’s behaviour also included “ignoring morning greetings from her and facing the other way when [she] was presenting in meetings”.

The London (South) Employment Tribunal judgment, taken last November, was published on Tuesday.

After the 2018 incident over a patient who had collapsed at home, Ms Hamilton apologised to Mr Nayeck for her tone.

Ms Hamilton stated he later took her book, rubbed out her name and wrote his instead before storing it in a cupboard containing his own documents and books.

The NHS trust has been approached for comment.

In a 2019 mediation session, Mr Nayeck agreed to “follow advice regarding the tone of emails and not send every message as high priority” and both agreed “to communicate in a civil manner with each other at work”.

Ms Hamilton’s submission stated: “”I tried very hard to build a better relationship with Abdool particularly following mediation.

“I have offered him tea or coffee, have tried to talk to him about, for example, how he enjoyed his Eid celebrations… I have not had any reciprocal treatment from Abdool.

“The only change that occurred from [Mr Nayeck’s] side is that he no longer made drinks for the team in the morning so by extension I was no longer specifically excluded in that regard.”

In 2021, a letter was sent to Ms Hamilton stating “there was no evidence to show that you had shown bullying behaviour” towards Mr Nayeck, who had lodged a complaint.

Ms Hamilton was again signed off by her GP in August 2021 with “work-related stress” and was undergoing cognitive behavioural therapy when she resigned in January 2022.

“I could not handle another year of going through this,” Ms Hamilton told the tribunal.

“I was really suffering.”

In her judgment, employment judge Kathryn Ramsden said Ms Hamilton’s testimony was “powerful”.

She wrote: “She was a gifted nurse, who loved her job and she was immensely distressed to have found herself in a situation where she could not do it.

“On the trust’s own evidence Mr Nayeck’s conduct and communications towards the claimant continued to fall far short of the standards it expected, and yet it appeared to do very little beyond speaking to Mr Nayeck – which evidently made no difference – except for make suggestions that it did not then follow through.”