An NHS nurse has been awarded £41,000 in compensation and accused her employer of failing to address workplace bullying after being left out of a tea round.
Susan Hamilton, a diabetes specialist nurse at St Helier Hospital in Sutton, complained that colleague Abdool Nayeck excluded her from morning tea rounds.
An employment tribunal in Croydon heard that Nayeck would ignore her greetings and “stopped making tea for her when he was making it for all other team members”.
The pair were said to have had a “difficult relationship” that eventually led to Hamilton’s resignation from the Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust.
St Helier Hospital in London
PA
Hamilton qualified as a nurse in 1986 and joined the trust as a diabetes specialist nurse in October 2012.
Nayeck, a dietitian, joined her team five years later in 2017.
The relationship deteriorated following an incident in 2018 when Hamilton questioned Nayeck’s “competency” after a disagreement over patient care.
The nurse told the tribunal that from this point, Nayeck became “noticeably dismissive” towards her.
She claimed he stopped making tea for her and would face the other way when she spoke during meetings.
The situation continued to worsen, eventually leading to formal intervention by hospital management.
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English breakfast tea being poured from a teapot
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Trust bosses called a formal mediation meeting where Nayeck reportedly told Hamilton bluntly: “I don’t like you”.
The pair signed an agreement in late 2019 to be civil by “saying hello”, “not excluding [each other] from conversations” and “being polite”.
However, Hamilton testified that little changed after the mediation.
“The only change that occurred from [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,” she told the tribunal.
Despite the agreement to improve workplace relations, the situation continued to deteriorate.
Months after the mediation, Nayeck filed a lengthy complaint against Hamilton, alleging she had bullied him over the previous two years.
Digestive biscuit about to be dunked in a mug of tea
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Trust management investigated and determined Hamilton had “no case to answer”.
However, she was upset when told that “aspects” of her behaviour might have contributed to Nayeck feeling bullied.
Hamilton was subsequently signed off work with stress.
Upon her return in January 2021, she raised a formal grievance against both Nayeck and the trust regarding its handling of her concerns.
While her grievances against the trust were upheld, the allegations against Nayeck were initially dismissed.
Hamilton appealed this decision, which was then upheld by the hospital.
A stock image of an NHS wardPAThe trust acknowledged the “impact” the previous outcome had on her “wellbeing”.
Hamilton resigned from the trust in January 2022, a year after returning to work.
She took her case to an employment tribunal, citing “a breach of contract due to a total breakdown of trust and confidence”.
Employment Judge Kathryn Ramsden ruled in Hamilton’s favour, stating the trust had failed to take “adequate action” over Nayeck’s behaviour.
This included failing to address the situation while Hamilton was off work with stress.
The tribunal awarded the nurse £41,000 in compensation for the trust’s mishandling of the workplace conflict.
The case highlights the serious consequences when healthcare employers fail to effectively address workplace bullying.