Bradford research nurse awarded £12k for unfair dismissal

Sujie Mogane worked at the Bradford Institute for Health Research for three years (file photo)

A nurse who was unfairly dismissed from a research institute after complaining about bullying has been awarded almost £12,000 in compensation.

Sujie Mogane, who was dismissed from the Bradford Institute for Health Research in 2019 as part of a cost-cutting drive, said she was "targeted".

She lost her initial employment tribunal in Leeds but won on appeal with judges saying the original inquiry "lost sight of its task".

Mrs Mogane has been awarded £11,754.

Mrs Mogane, from Keighley, began working as a nurse research assistant at the institute in July 2016, focusing on respiratory disorders, but was selected for redundancy when her contract was due to end in June 2019.

She told employment judges there was no proper consultation and claimed she had been chosen because she "made protected qualifying disclosures" and "recounted a history of alleged bullying and harassment towards her" by a manager.

The first tribunal was held over six days in January 2021 and presided over by judge Philip Lancaster who concluded Mrs Mogane's dismissal was fair but she was owed a £19,000 redundancy payment.

The Bradford Institute for Health Research is based at Bradford Royal Infirmary

Professor Dinesh Saralaya, who runs the unit, said the only reason Mrs Mogane was dismissed was because of a £65,000 deficit in its budget, but he also said she "simply didn't have the ability to perform the task" as well as another nurse who was kept on.

Appeal judge HHJ Wayne Beard said he was "sorry to say" the tribunal had "lost sight of its specific task" when considering whether the dismissal was fair or unfair.

He said it was "clear" the decision to terminate Mrs Mogane's employment was made before any consultation took place and the tribunal failed to address the key points of her claim, adding her dismissal was "unfair".

Following a remedy hearing, employment judge Kirsty Ayre made a 50% reduction on the £58,000 Mrs Mogane was claiming, saying that even if the process had been fair, she may still have been made redundant.

Mrs Mogane had already received a redundancy payment leaving £11,754 to pay in compensation, the judge said.

Mrs Mogane told the remedy hearing the period after her dismissal was a "very dark time of my life".