Susan Hamilton resigned from Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust following a ‘difficult’ time with colleague Abdool Nayeck
An NHS worker has been awarded £41,000 after she was allegedly left out of the office tea round in an alleged case of workplace bullying. Susan Hamilton, a diabetes specialist nurse, had a ‘difficult relationship’ with colleague and dietician Abdool Nayeck which allegedly escalated in 2018 following a disagreement over patient care.
Despite resolving the issue with management at Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust, it was alleged that Mr Nayeck’s behaviour ‘became notably dismissive’ from then onwards, a tribunal was told. Mrs Hamilton complained that he would ‘treat her differently’, ‘ignoring morning greetings from her’ and ‘facing the other way’ in meetings.
Around this time, Mr Nayeck also reportedly ‘stopped making tea for her’ while continuing to make drinks for other team members. In 2019, HR called a meeting 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.
During 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 accusing Mrs Hamilton of bullying him at work for the past two years. Employers informed Mrs Hamilton ‘there was no case to answer’, but said 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 exacerbated 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’. Although she returned to work in January 2021, she then quit 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 then 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 lodged 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.
As part of this, 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 alleged 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).
Just 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 contested 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, the subsequent tribunal panel said the trust failed to take ‘adequate action’ over Mrs Hamilton’s concerns over a number of years. Mrs Hamilton has since received a £41,000 compensation pay-out.