Posted 26 July 2023 - 10:30
Posted 26 July 2023 - 10:30
News
Research nurse wins compensation for unfair dismissal
Sujie Mogane, who was made redundant by the Bradford Institute for Health Research, is awarded nearly £12,000 by appeal tribunal
Sujie Mogane, who was made redundant by the Bradford Institute for Health Research, is awarded nearly £12,000 by appeal tribunal
A research nurse has been awarded almost £12,000 in compensation after it was ruled she was unfairly dismissed.
Sujie Mogane was made redundant from the Bradford Institute for Health Research in 2019 and lost an initial employment tribunal.
Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, which runs the institute, said Ms Mogane’s redundancy was due to cost-cutting measures. Ms Mogane claimed she was let go for raising bullying concerns about a female manager, but this and complaints of harassment were not upheld.
Ms Mogane had worked at the research unit since July 2016 as a band 6 nurse research assistant on a fixed-term contract. She was selected for redundancy when her contract was due to end in 2019.
She told the initial employment tribunal in January 2021 that there had been no proper consultation. That tribunal threw out her claims, concluding she had been fairly dismissed but the trust owed her a £19,000 redundancy payment.
Proper process would have seen two employees in redundancy selection process, appeal tribunal judge says
But an appeal judge ruled the original tribunal had ‘lost sight of its specific task’ when considering if Ms Mogane’s dismissal had been fair, and she was awarded £11,754 in compensation.
They found that Mr Dinesh Saralaya, who runs the unit, favoured another nurse on the unit who was kept on over Ms Mogane.
‘It was clear from professor Saralaya’s evidence that he has a degree of animosity towards the claimant (Ms Mogane). He did not appear to have a good word to say about her. He appeared dismissive of the claimant’s skills and experience,’ the judgement document states.
In contrast, he spoke about the other nurse in ‘glowing terms’ which suggested a ‘clear bias’ towards the nurse who was kept on, it added.
Had professor Saralaya acted fairly and followed the proper process, there would have been two employees in the redundancy selection process, the appeal tribunal judge said in concluding that Ms Mogane’s dismissal was unfair.
Ms Mogane has since left nursing. Bradford Teaching Hospitals Foundation Trust has been contacted for comment.
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