Nurse loses bias claim in row over crucifix

Shirley Chaplin, 54, took the Royal Devon and Exeter NHS Trust Hospital to an employment tribunal, claiming that taking off a necklace bearing the crucifix would "violate her faith".

The trust said the move was not specifically about the crucifix but about health and safety concerns about patients grabbing necklaces.

Yesterday, employment tribunal panel chairman John Hollow found against Mrs Chaplin, who had worn the emblem throughout her 30 years as a nurse, and ruled the trust had acted in a "reasonable" manner in trying to reach a compromise.

He said the damage to her was "slight" and noted that wearing a crucifix was not a requirement of the Christian faith.

In a 71-point statement, Mrs Chaplin, who wore the crucifix to the hearing in her home city of Exeter, said she was "personally convicted" to wear the emblem, given to her as a confirmation gift in 1971.

Wearing the old uniform, the cross was visible and she wore it safely for 30 years, Mrs Chaplin said. When a new-style uniform was introduced, there were still no issues until she was asked to remove the necklace last summer.

It was suggested she pin the crucifix inside her uniform but Mrs Chaplin could not accept that. She explained: "I was being asked to hide my religion and my faith. I found it disrespectful."

In September a request to keep the cross pinned outside her uniform was turned down by the trust, she said.

This answer "confirmed to me that they simply wanted to remove the visibility of the crucifix", she said.

Last July, she was told she was facing a "disciplinary sanction". In August she was threatened with formal disciplinary action.

She said she received a letter in September telling her the cross was not a "mandatory requirement" of her faith, unlike Muslim headscarves, which "therefore could be exempted".

Later that month she accepted formal redeployment from frontline duties.

After the hearing Mrs Chaplin said the result was "a very bad day for Christianity."