A dental nurse has won £25,000 compensation after colleagues’ ‘rude’ and ‘bullying’ behaviour.
A row between two dental workers at an Edinburgh clinic escalated after the two women had a ‘strained’ relationship, an employment tribunal heard.
Jisna Iqbal’s gestures, like repeated eye rolling when her colleague Maureen Howieson, 64, spoke, were found to breach her contract.
Ms Howieson had worked in dentistry for over 40 years, but the ‘strained’ relationship with Mrs Iqbal and the lack of action from her bosses at Great Junction Dental Practice led her to have panic attacks and eventually quit.
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A panel found that the experienced dental nurse was subjected to ‘rude, isolating, bullying and belittling’ behaviour by Mrs Iqbal.
The tense situation created a ‘hostile working environment’ for her, a judge at the tribunal said.
The relationship soured when Mrs Iqbal took on reception duties while Ms Howieson was off sick.
Ms Howieson was moved to reception duties due to arthritis, while Mrs Iqbal, a qualified dentist in India, was not yet eligible to practice in the UK.
The 64-year-old accused Mrs Iqbal of being ‘rude and disrespectful’ when they worked together.
She also claimed her colleague repeatedly ignored her and rolled her eyes if she spoke, Daily Mail reports.
Mrs Iqbal rejected the claims, but the panel accepted the other woman’s version of events.’
The situation escalated further in September 2024 when Ms Howieson was brought to tears at work, prompting her to have a meeting with the clinic owner, Dr Fary Johnson Vithayathil.
She had told a colleague she had been ‘reduced to being a cleaner.’
The following day, Mrs Iqbal allegedly refused to leave the reception when Ms Howieson was meant to start her afternoon shift.
She was told that Dr Vithayathil’s wife, the business manager, would speak with Mrs Iqbal, which didn’t happen.
Ms Howieson ended up having a panic attack due to stress.
When she was incorrectly underpaid in October, she quit, describing it as a ‘final straw.’
The dental clinic insisted that Ms Howieson’s role had not changed, but the panel found it to be ‘wholly at odds with the evidence.’
Judge Ronald Mackay concluded that the ‘failure’ to deal with the woman’s ‘clear concerns’ was an ‘unacceptable omission.’
The assurances given to her ‘were not kept, leading to an ongoing hostile working environment,’ he added.
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