An NHS trust has been ordered to pay £1m in damages to a former employee after a tribunal found he was unfairly dismissed and faced racial discrimination. Richard Hastings, an IT manager at King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust in south London, was sacked after a dispute with a contractor in the hospital car park in 2015.
The tribunal found that the trust ignored Hastings' allegations of racist abuse during its investigation. Its disciplinary process consistently portrayed Hastings as 'the aggressor' based on preconceptions of him as a black male, despite CCTV footage showing otherwise. White contractors were treated as 'the victims'.
The judgment stated: 'The tribunal has found as a fact that during the investigatory hearing the claimant provided evidence of racial abuse... but this was not investigated. We conclude that by failing to investigate this the claimant was treated less favourably because of race.'
Hastings said he was left 'completely broken' by the experience, struggling to rebuild his career and suffering from weight loss and insomnia. He told the Guardian: 'It was very hurtful but what was even more hurtful was the treatment from the organisation I’d been with for nearly 19 years.'
The incident began when a van driver made racially charged comments, including 'Careful it doesn’t come off' in reference to Hastings' skin colour. Hastings reported the incident but was suspended after the driver alleged assault. The tribunal found the investigation tainted by 'unconscious bias' and that Hastings' evidence was treated with unwarranted distrust.
A trust spokesman said: 'The trust has apologised to Mr Hastings and we would like to extend that apology once again,' adding that changes have been implemented to improve staff support.
