NHS worker awarded £1,000 after racial abuse told he will not receive more money

Charles Sterling’s manager did not tell him he had been referred to as a “black sack” by a cleaner, when he was working as a clerical assistant at Seacroft Hospital’s sexual health clinic in Leeds, but the cleaner repeated the slur to him the following day.

The manager told the cleaner she was “appalled” by the comment and reported the incident to her supervisor, but she did not tell Mr Sterling because she did not want to “upset him unnecessarily”.

But at a tribunal last year, Employment Judge Brain ruled that failing to tell Mr Sterling was “omission” which can “constitute an act of harassment” and that he should be awarded £1,000 in compensation by Leeds Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, which runs the hospital.

He also said the manager had inadvertently “violated his dignity” and created an “intimidating environment for him”.

Mr Sterling, who is of Caribbean heritage, then asked the judge to add interest to that compensation, but at a recent hearing he refused the request.

The former NHS worker, who was employed by the clinic until he resigned in July 2020, has also claimed he suffered racial discrimination at the hands of his manager and was harassed and victimised.

He claimed there were numerous examples of mistreatment, including one when she shouted at him in front of colleagues when he was late to work after being shot with an air rifle in November 2019.

But the employment judge said there was no evidence to suggest that she had ever been aggressive towards Mr Sterling or racially abused or victimised him.

The tribunal also heard his manager had helped him when he was struggling at work, by relieving him of certain duties, and offered him the chance to discuss any personal issues that may have been affecting his performance, but he refused.

Following the tribunal, the judge said the evidence given by Mr Sterling was “inconsistent, poor and lacking in credibility upon some points”.

He added: “He was also unclear on dates and times and frequently became muddled in his account of events.”

The cleaner who made the racist comment was moved to another part of the hospital and given a written warning after the incident.