Nurse ‘bullied’ for wearing cross wins unfair dismissal case

A Christian nurse who claimed she was discriminated against for wearing a cross at work has won her case for unfair dismissal.

Mary Onuoha, a theatre practitioner at Croydon University Hospital in London, said she was bullied and harassed for refusing to remove her necklace in 2018.

But an employment tribunal has ruled Croydon Health Services NHS Trust discriminated against and harassed Ms Onuoha over her refusal to remove the jewellery. The trust told her the necklace was a safety risk and must not be outwardly visible.

Ms Onuoha, supported by Christian Legal Centre, said she had worked at the hospital for 13 years before being asked to remove the symbol.

The tribunal found the employer’s uniform policy arbitrary, with many staff allowed to wear necklaces and other religious symbols were permitted.

Following the ruling, Christian Legal Centre chief executive Andrea Williams said the trust’s interpretation of uniform guidance had led to a campaign of harassment against a devoted, experienced, and highly professional nurse, who was in effect hounded out of the NHS.

Ms Onuoha said she was investigated and suspended from clinical duties when she refused to remove the item and she was demoted to receptionist duties. In June 2020, she went off work with stress and said she felt she had no alternative but to resign.

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Source: Nursing Standard, 6 January 2022