West London NHS Trust

Case Summary

Ms Chambers, a staff nurse employed since 2004, claimed harassment related to race and victimisation. The tribunal found both claims not well-founded and dismissed them. The tribunal also ordered the claimant to pay £15,000 in costs to the respondent, finding that she had pursued the claims unreasonably despite a deposit order and legal advice.

The tribunal found that any conduct which occurred was not linked to the claimant's race, and the detriments alleged did not amount to legal detriment. The tribunal concluded that pursuing the harassment and victimisation claims was unreasonable in light of a deposit order, legal advice, and the claimant's opportunity to rectify the issues since September 2024.

• •Whether conduct by Mr Kouadio constituted harassment related to race
• •Whether the claimant suffered detriment as victimisation following protected acts
• •Whether the harassment claim was linked to the claimant's race
• •Whether the detriments alleged amounted to detriment in law
• •Costs application under rules 73 and 74 of Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024

Claim No: 3300316/2024 1 EMPLOYMENT TRIBUNALS Claimant: Ms Marcia Marie Chambers Respondent: West London NHS Trust Heard at: Watford On: 2 to 6 March 2026 Before: Employment Judge MJ Smith Tribunal Member S Boot Tribunal Member C Surrey REPRESENTATION: Claimant: Mr Peter Ntui (litigation executive) Respondent: Mr Gareth Deane (counsel) JUDGMENT The unanimous judgment of the Tribunal is as follows: 1. The complaint of harassment related race is not well-founded and is dismissed. 2. The complaint of victimisation is not well founded and is dismissed. 3. The sum of £15,000 in costs is payable by the claimant to the respondent within 28 days. REASONS Claim No: 3300316/2024 2 Introduction 1. This is a claim of harassment on the grounds of race namely that the claimant identifies as a female of colour of the Caribbean ethnic group. In addition, the claimant claims victimisation on the basis that she committed a protected act namely raising the issue of harassment on the grounds of race with the respondent and then suffered detriment. 2. The respondent is an NHS trust which operates a medium secure unit providing psychological, occupational and rehabilitative services for male mentally disordered offenders. The claimant was employed as a staff nurse at the unit from 7 June 2004. She is still employed by the respondent. The claimant contacted early conciliation via ACAS on 8 November 2023 and an early conciliation certificate was issued on 10 November 2023. The claimant presented a claim for harassment on the grounds of race and victimisation on 5 January 2024. The procedural background 3. At the start of the hearing, on 2 March 2026, the respondent made an application to allow one of their witnesses, Mr Adebayo Bankole, to give evidence via video pursuant to Rule 46 of the Employment Tribunal Procedure Rules 2024: A hearing may be conducted, in whole or in part…