NHS nurse awarded £41,000 payout after being 'left out of morning tea round'
27 February 2025, 00:57
An NHS nurse has been awarded a £41,000 payout after she accused her colleague of leaving her out of a morning tea round.
Listen to this article
Loading audio...
Susan Hamilton accused her colleague, dietician Abdool Nayeck, of "bullying behaviour" after she was not offered a cuppa - a claim a south London tribunal has upheld.
Ms Hamilton claims the egregious behaviour took place during her time at St Helier Hospital in Sutton, south London, with the diabetes specialist claiming she and her male colleague had a "difficult relationship".
Ms Hamilton went on to tell a tribunal that the dietician regularly ignored her in meetings and “stopped making tea for her when he was making it for all other team members”.
A mediation by hospital bosses saw the pair agree to “polite” exchanges that would take place in a “communicate in a civil manner", however, according to Ms Hamilton this was not the case.
The nurse, who first qualified in 1986, subsequently claimed that the “only change” following the meeting with bosses was that Mr Nayeck not only refused to make Ms Hamilton tea, but the entire team.
Read more: Met Police publish new 'Stop and Search Charter' in a bid to increase transparency
Citing one particular incident which took place in 2018, she claims her male colleague became "dismissive" following a clash of opinion over one particular patient's care.
During formal mediations, the dietitian was said to have “bluntly” told his colleague “I don’t like you”.
Months later, in late 2019, a document saw the pair agree to “say hello” and “not excluding [each other] from conversations”, in addition to “being polite”.
The nurse was later signed off work with stress before returning to her role in January 2021.
Upon her return, she is said to have lodged a formal complaint over Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust’s handling of her complaints.
Following her resignation later that year, she claimed “a breach of contract" had taken place that led to "a total breakdown of trust and confidence”.
The grievances against the trust were upheld but the single allegation of abuse against Nayeck was dismissed.
She appealed and this was upheld by the hospital.
Employment Judge Kathryn Ramsden said the trust had failed to take “adequate action” over Nayeck’s behaviour.
