Posted 10 April 2024 - 13:00
Posted 10 April 2024 - 13:00
News
Payout for nurse after bosses refused to let her only work nights
A nurse was awarded more than £22,000 by a tribunal after NHS managers refused to let her work a regular shift pattern to help her manage a chronic condition
A nurse was awarded more than £22,000 by a tribunal after NHS managers refused to let her work a regular shift pattern to help her manage a chronic condition
A nurse with Crohn’s disease was awarded more than £22,000 by a tribunal after NHS managers refused to let her work a regular shift pattern to help her manage her condition.
Senior charge nurse Kimberley Black requested a regular pattern of night shifts because a standard mixed rota had led to a flare-up of severe symptoms, including acute abdominal pain, swelling, bleeding and feeling that her stomach would explode.
A tribunal report accused NHS managers of taking a ‘computer-says-no’ approach after they refused her request to exclusively work night shifts because it did not fit with ‘standard rota types’.
Regular routine essential for managing Crohn’s disease symptoms
Before starting at a new job at an NHS24 help centre in 2020, Ms Black managed her symptoms with a strict diet, medication and regular routine, the employment tribunal heard. But her health deteriorated and she increased her medication to treat her inflammation. She later developed a chest infection that turned into pneumonia.
When she approached managers at Cardonald Centre near Glasgow to ask for reasonable adjustments to her rota, managers Jackie Blair and Tony Miller supported her request, and she solely worked night shifts. The managers explained to the tribunal that nights were often hard to fill and that eight senior charge nurses in the cohort did not or could not work night shifts at all.
Mr Miller told the tribunal: ‘We absolutely need Kimberley on night shift to keep the minimal staffing requirement,’ and she was described as the ‘mainstay of the nightshift.’
But the decision was reversed by head of clinical services Joan Main and head of integrated services delivery Nicola Dawson, who deemed full night shifts rotas inappropriate, saying they did not meet ‘shift review parameters’.
The band 7 nurse was instead told she must accept one of three mixed-rota options or be redeployed in a band 6 role.
Unwillingness to adjust standard rotas to take account of nurse’s health needs
Head tribunal judge Mary Kearns said she was struck by the unwillingness of Ms Dawson to consider deviating from her standard rotas to allow an adjustment for an employee with a disability.
Managers claimed that a night-shift-only working pattern would not enable a senior charge nurse to fulfil all the responsibilities of their role, including participating in day-time staff meetings.
But the judge questioned the logic of this, saying that as the centre operated out-of-hours, all nursing staff working either early, late or night shifts would be in the same position.
The tribunal concluded that NHS24 has failed in its duty to Ms Black under the Equality Act 2010, and she should be allowed to continue to work exclusively on night shifts without demotion. The trust was ordered to pay her £22,277 in compensation.
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