Man compensated after bosses likened him to a wasp

A man has been awarded compensation after hospital managers described him as a "wasp" that needed "swatting".

Franco Villani was a union representative for Unite at Bridlington Hospital when he was likened to an insect.

An employment tribunal found he had been been deliberately targeted by senior managers in an attempt to undermine his union activities.

The York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust said it accepted the tribunal's outcome and it apologised to Mr Villani for his experience.

The tribunal heard there had been repeated incidents where management had attempted to limit Mr Villani's union role and had encouraged colleagues to submit workplace complaints against him to deter him from continuing to report health and safety concerns.

Unite said an internal email exchange from June 2023 revealed senior managers using derogatory language about Mr Villani, referring to him as a "wasp" that needed "swatting".

The tribunal ruled in his favour, ordering the employer to pay £10,000 in compensation for the distress and harm he endured.

Mr Villani said: "It saddens me that I have had to go through this process to protect the hospital patients, visitors and staff.

"The unacceptable treatment that I have been subjected to has had a detrimental effect on me."

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: "It is shameful that union members and reps are still being targeted in this manner as if this was still the 1930s.

"That this was an NHS trust makes it all the more disgraceful."

A spokesperson for York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: "The Trust accepts the tribunal's outcome, and we apologise to Mr Villani for his experience in this case.

"We maintain productive relationships with all our trade unions and professional bodies, and the incident described does not reflect the broader, constructive working relationships we have with them."

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