Lincolnshire doctor wins racism case over sacking

The tribunal was told Prof Ahmed had 16 years' service and an unblemished record

A sacked doctor accused of "playing the race card" was the victim of racial discrimination, an employment tribunal has found.

Prof Tanweer Ahmed was subjected to a disciplinary inquiry over claims he bullied staff at United Lincolnshire Hospitals NHS Trust (ULHT).

The tribunal judge ruled there were "many flaws" in the Trust's handling of the investigation and dismissal.

Prof Ahmed said the decision was a relief after enduring years of stress.

He has called for for NHS England to conduct an "independent enquiry into discrimination at Lincolnshire hospitals to learn from what has happened to me and others".

'Relied on hearsay'

Prof Ahmed joined ULHT in 2003 as director of Lincoln Clinical Research Facility, director of research innovation, and was also chair of the BAME staff network.

Allegations of bullying and harassment were raised by a former member of Prof Ahmed's team after she resigned in 2018, the tribunal heard.

The accusations "relied heavily on hearsay" from other colleagues who no longer worked at the Trust and dated back a number of years, it was heard.

An investigation only began in early 2019, nearly a year later, the tribunal was told.

The Trust did not present any logical reason as to why he was fired, the hearing concluded

The panel heard: "Most of the allegations were historical, none of the management witnesses remained in [Prof Ahmed's] department and some of the witnesses interviewed as part of the investigation had left [his] department five to 10 years before the complaint was made."

The report did not recommend any disciplinary action and it was agreed a development plan was an appropriate response.

However, HR director Martin Rayson directed that the matter proceed to a disciplinary hearing which would look into Prof Ahmed's dismissal.

The tribunal was told an email sent by Mr Rayson to Prof Ahmed's line manager said: "Tanweer will play the race card I suspect."

He was later sacked for gross misconduct, despite a colleague who worked closely with him describing the allegations as "laughable".

The tribunal found the Trust didn't present any logical reason why he was fired and could not come up with an explanation to rule out racism.

It concluded: "We cannot see how [the Trust] legitimately concluded that he was guilty of gross misconduct.

"We cannot, therefore, conclude on the balance of probabilities that race had nothing whatsoever to do with his dismissal."

A spokesperson for the United Lincolnshire Health Trust said it was "taking time to fully consider" the judgement and "any learning we might take".

They added "as an organisation, we take a zero-tolerance approach to discriminatory behaviour of any kind".