NHS nurse tea round: Employment tribunal orders St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust to pay £41,000 after nurse deliberately left off morning drinks

Susan Hamilton was a diabetes specialist nurse from October 2012 until January 2022 at St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust in south London. She resigned and then brought an employment tribunal case that she was constructively unfairly dismissed.

The tribunal judge agreed with her argument, and now the hospital trust has been ordered to pay her £41,000.

The tribunal report states that Mrs Hamilton and her colleague Abdool Nayeck had had a “difficult relationship”, after a flashpoint in January 2018.

Then, the report goes on to say, “in September 2018 a situation arose in relation to a patient who had experienced severe “hypos” (episodes of low blood sugar), collapsed at home and was at risk.

“[Mrs Hamilton] and Mr Nayeck disagreed about the appropriate response, and when Mr Nayeck asked [her] if she was questioning his competency, she confirmed that she was. [Mrs Hamilton] considered this reasonable in light of the patient safety risk that she perceived Mr Nayeck’s advice posed.”

The incident was reported to her superiors, Sarah Jupp and Dr Andrew Rodin, and the three of them met a few days later. Mrs Jupp confirmed that she and Dr Rodin confirmed Mrs Hamilton’s clinical assessment had been correct, and said that Mr Nayeck’s behaviour “showed a learning issue that needed to be addressed” about his diagnosis of the patient and how he had dealt with Mrs Hamilton. It was also noted in the report that they had suggested Mrs Hamilton apologise for the tone she used while talking to Mr Nayeck “in this instance” - and she says that she agreed to do so, provided the management took the steps they said they would. And she did apologise.

From then on, Mrs Hamilton claims Mr Nayeck’s attitude to her “became noticeably dismissive”, and “he would treat her differently to other members of the team by, for example, ignoring morning greetings from her, and facing the other way when [she] was presenting in meetings”.

The report says: “Mrs Jupp says that around this time [Mrs Hamilton] complained to her that Mr Nayeck stopped making tea for her when he was making it for all other team members, that she (Mrs Jupp) raised it with him, and as far as she is aware this was then resolved. [Mrs Hamilton] disagrees that it was resolved.

“The Diabetes Department had a number of reference books, including around ten copies of a book with the title The Carbs and Cals Book, which was used to help patients with understanding and quantifying carbohydrates and calories. Some of the department’s copies were purchased by it, others were donated by pharmaceutical companies.

“[Mrs Hamilton], separately to the department, owned a copy of the book that she had brought with her when she started employmentt. That version of the book had her name written inside the front cover in pencil. In either January or February 2019 [she] mislaid her copy, and she asked the team members, including Mr Nayeck, if they had seen it, but no one apparently had.

“In April 2019 [Mrs Hamilton] located her missing book, in a cupboard used to store certain leaflets, and which was used by Mr Nayeck for storing some of his own documents and books. [Her] name had been rubbed out and Mr Nayeck’s name – written in his own handwriting - had been written over the indentation of [her] name.”

The report details other incidents in which the pair clashed. The hospital a mediation in which a “polite” manner was requested from the pair, but Mrs Hamilton later 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.

The 44-page report says that there was no “contributory conduct” from Mrs Hamilton to her feeling she had to leave the hospital trust, and so ordered the trust to pay her £41,000.