Indian-origin healthcare worker called ‘auntie’, wins harassment claim in UK

LONDON: An Indian-origin healthcare assistant employed with the UK’s National Health Service (NHS) has won a harassment claim over being called “auntie” by a nurse colleague of Ghanaian heritage.

Watford Employment Tribunal Judge George Alliott upheld that Ilda Esteves was harassed on the grounds of age and sex and directed the West London NHS Trust to pay her a total of 1,425.15 pounds in damages for “injury to feelings”.

A three-judge panel, which heard the case last year and issued detailed reasons behind the judgment last month, accepted that “auntie” is a term of respect for older people in Ghanaian culture. However, staff nurse Charles Oppong was responsible for leading the teams on the ward and should not have made such comments.

“We find that Charles Oppong’s purpose was probably an offensive attempt at humour,” notes the judgment.

“We find that the claimant did perceive it as creating an offensive environment. We find that the circumstances of the comments being made in the office and in the corridor and at handover were such that it had the effect of creating an offensive environment. We find that it was reasonable for the comments to have that effect. Consequently, the claimant’s claim of harassment on this ground succeeds,” it reads.

Esteves, a 61-year-old healthcare professional of Indian heritage gave evidence to the tribunal that Oppong used the term “auntie” on a number of occasions despite her asking to be referred to by her first name.

In addition, she stated that the comment about being a good match for an older colleague, who she referred to as George, was made on two occasions.

“We have taken into account that 'Auntie' is, in fact, a term of respect in Ghanaian culture (since the harasser had Ghanaian heritage) but, nevertheless, since it was against her wishes it would have been offensive to her,” the judgement concludes.

The incidents are said to have taken place over a “short duration” between June and September 2023. Esteves' application for an anonymity order around the tribunal proceedings was denied by the tribunal on the grounds that “public interest in the open administration of justice outweighs any of the claimant’s convention rights”.

Her other claims of harassment on the grounds of race, discrimination, victimisation and unauthorised deduction of wages were, however, dismissed.