Trust accused of ‘legal bullying’ after attempt to sue worker

A trust which took an employee to court for thousands of pounds has been accused of “legal bullying”.

Court documents seen by HSJ  reveal Lancashire Teaching Hospitals Trust attempted to sue its staff member Jonny Slade for “fundamental dishonesty” after he brought, and then dropped, a workplace injury claim against the trust.

The trust later withdrew its claim against the worker – in which it had sought around £14,000 in costs from Mr Slade – after a hearing had begun at Preston County Court. 

The court proceedings finished in 2023, but Mr Slade told HSJ he had now decided to speak publicly about the case because he had exhausted official channels with health and safety concerns he has been raising. 

He said: “I felt the only way to ensure the issues were taken seriously was to speak publicly.

“I simply hope [this] encourages greater accountability and ensures that staff who raise genuine safety concerns are treated fairly, rather than facing what I went through.”

Workplace culture expert Roger Kline said: “I hope this case acts as a lesson to NHS trusts to stop pursuing staff for extortionate costs when they have in good faith lodged a claim… It is a form of legal bullying.” He said this kind of action was a “surprisingly common feature” of his recent report into workplace investigations.

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Source: HSJ, 8 April 2026

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