Ageism claim | NHS worker wins harassment case after colleague called her 'Auntie'

An NHS worker has won a harassment claim after a colleague repeatedly called her “Auntie” and suggested she would be “a good match” for an older male colleague.

A London Employment Tribunal found that Mrs Ilda Esteves had been subjected to harassment related to age and sex while working for West London NHS Trust, although the majority of her other claims were dismissed.

The tribunal upheld Mrs Esteves’ claim of harassment related to age and sex. Claims of direct discrimination, race harassment, victimisation, protected disclosure detriment and unlawful deduction from wages were all dismissed. All claims against the second respondent were also rejected.

The successful claim centred on comments made by staff nurse Charles Oppong across June to September 2023, specifically “calling her ‘Auntie’ multiple times leading up to and on 7 September 2023… and saying she was a ‘good match for the older staff member’”.