'Closed mind' | The flawed probe into a black nurse accused of sleeping at work that interviewed only white staff

A disciplinary investigation into allegations that a black nurse had been sleeping on night shifts was fundamentally flawed after managers interviewed only white members of staff and failed to speak to black colleagues who were present at the time, an employment tribunal has found.

Beatrice Mbonda, who worked as a nurse at Quarryfields complex needs care home, was given a final written warning for gross misconduct after complaints she had been asleep during night shifts on 9 and 10 March 2023.

But the Sheffield tribunal found the respondent discriminated against Mbonda “because of race” by “failing to carry out a full and fair disciplinary process by failing to speak to other members of the nursing staff on shift who were black, and only speaking to the white nursing staff”.

Allegations centred on two night shifts

The tribunal heard Mbonda had been employed at Quarryfields from August 2015 until she resigned in December 2023.