Racial discrimination in the NHS
Michelle Cox, a senior nurse based in Manchester, was employed as a Continuing Healthcare Manager in the NHS from 2017.
In 2018, she was appointed the regional lead to the Chief Nursing Officers’ Black Minority Ethnic (BME) Strategic Advisory Group in the North West.
Her line manager, Gill Paxton, is white, while Michelle is black.
During 2019-20, Gill created an “intimidating and hostile and humiliating environment” for Michelle, which left her feeling “undermined, marginalised and ignored”.
For example:
- A more junior (white) member of her team was promoted without Michelle’s knowledge
- Two white members of her team were given temporary pay rises while a black colleague wasn’t offered one until she raised a grievance about it
- Michelle was purposely excluded from the recruitment process for two senior roles
- She was deliberately excluded from team events that were arranged on dates when she couldn’t attend (for example, because the event clashed with the Chief Nurses Office’s BME conference)
- Gill discussed confidential information about Michelle’s health with a team member who was encouraged to report concerns she had about Michelle
In 2020, Michelle raised a formal grievance with NHS England (NHSE) followed by an appeal, but her concerns were dismissed or discredited by her manager.
With the support of the Royal College of Nursing, Michelle made claims of discrimination, harassment, victimisation and whistleblowing at the employment tribunal.
Her complaints of race discrimination and whistleblowing detriment were upheld because:
- Gill’s pattern of behaviour towards Michelle “had the purpose and effect of unlawful harassment”
and - The investigations into Michelle’s concerns were “woefully inadequate”
The union has called it a “landmark case”.
Racial discrimination in the NHS: What happened next
Following the tribunal, NHSE has identified “initial areas for action”, with more due to be co-developed with staff networks and trade unions. These include:
- Line managers and leaders: Training on recognising and addressing race discrimination and subconscious bias, and to improve the “quality and timeliness” of 121 conversations
- Employee relations investigations and panels: Decision-makers to be trained on understanding the importance of identifying race discrimination “and the many forms this can take”
- Grievance and freedom to speak up: Improving awareness of “appropriate routes” for escalating concerns, including whistleblowing routes, FTSU guardians, as well as human resources and organisational development involvement
- HR & OD: Expanding formal mediation offerings and opportunities for informal resolutions, anti-racism training for national and regional HR & OD teams, and race discrimination training in employee relations cases
From this you can see that the courage of one individual speaking up can make a difference, even across a big organisation such as the NHS.
Equality Act 2010
The Equality Act 2010 protects you from discrimination on the grounds of ‘race’, which includes colour, nationality, and ethnic or national origins.
You are covered whether your contract is fixed-term or temporary, and if you are a job applicant, trainee, contract worker, company director, partner, on secondment or self-employed.
Discrimination can be:
- Direct, or indirect
- Focused on you or someone else
- By a boss, colleague or third party
In short, you should not be treated unfavourably because of who you are.
Racial discrimination in the NHS: What this means to you
Despite equality laws protecting people of all races and backgrounds, it seems that institutional racism is still an issue in many organisations (even in the publicly funded NHS – which should set the standard).
Whether in the public or private sector, your employer should follow a thorough, fair and proper recruitment process. What’s more, they should handle any grievances and appeals without further discrimination – this didn’t happen in Michelle’s case.
Michelle urges BME workers to speak up. If you experience racist discrimination at work, you have the right to challenge it. It can drive change and you might be awarded compensation – there’s no upper limit to the amount you can win.
Racial discrimination: What to do if it happens to you
In the first instance, try talking to your line manager, HR department or trade union. You can also get advice from Acas and/or specialist employment lawyers like us. We deal with discrimination issues all the time, and the initial conversation is free. In many cases, your employer should cover our fees.
Don’t delay, because there’s a strict time limit of three months less one day to bring a case to the employment tribunal.
Meanwhile, keep a written record of the discriminatory things that happen at work, including who said or did what, and when. This record will help you remember details, and can be used as evidence later. Also check your employment contract and staff handbook to see your employer’s written policy on discrimination, harassment and victimisation. It should also show the grievance procedure you’ll need to follow if you want to make an official complaint.
Race discrimination: Related reading
For more information on this subject, you might find our related articles useful:
- Race discrimination at work
- Race discrimination. Has it happened to you?
- When does race discrimination occur?
- My boss is picking on me
- My colleague is racist
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