Rolling your eyes at a work colleague could amount to bullying and a breach of employment laws, a tribunal has ruled.
A dental nurse has been awarded £25,000 for constructive dismissal after a fellow worker made the gesture whenever she spoke to her.
The panel found that Maureen Howieson was subjected to ‘rude, isolating, bullying and belittling’ behaviour by Jisna Iqbal, which amounted to multiple breaches of her contract.
Ms Howieson and Mrs Iqbal had a ‘strained’ relationship at Great Junction Dental Practice in Edinburgh, leading to the 64-year-old quitting her job.
She had worked in dentistry for more than 40 years, but her main role at the clinic was on reception as her arthritis made it difficult to perform nursing tasks.
Last year, the practice was sold to Dr Fary Johnson Vithayathil, who hired Mrs Iqbal.
She was a qualified dentist in India, but not yet eligible to practice in the UK and so ‘took over reception duties’ while Ms Howieson was off sick.
Their relationship then became ‘strained’, the tribunal in Edinburgh heard, with Ms Howieson claiming Mrs Iqbal was ‘rude and disrespectful’, would repeatedly ignore her, roll her eyes if spoken to, stop speaking to others when she entered the room and refuse to carry out tasks when asked.
Maureen Howieson was found to have been subjected to ‘rude, isolating, bullying and belittling’ behaviour by Jisna Iqbal (above)
Mrs Iqbal rejected this account, but the panel ‘accepted Ms Howieson’s version of events’.
The clinic claimed Ms Howieson’s role hadn’t changed, but it was found this was ‘wholly at odds with the evidence’.
In September 2024, she had a meeting with Dr Vithayathil after being brought to tears at work – telling a colleague she had been ‘reduced to being a cleaner’.
The next day, Mrs Iqbal refused to leave the reception when Ms Howieson was due to start work in the afternoon.
She informed Dr Vithayathil, who said his wife, the business manager, would speak to her about the issues with Mrs Iqbal – but she did not.
Ms Howieson and Mrs Iqbal had a ‘strained’ relationship at Great Junction Dental Practice (above) in Edinburgh
Relations between the women continued to deteriorate, with Ms Howieson having a panic attack at one point due to the stress.
She quit her job in October after she was incorrectly underpaid, which she saw as ‘the final straw’.
Employment Judge Ronald Mackay said a ‘failure’ to deal with Ms Howieson’s ‘clear concerns’ was an ‘unacceptable omission’.
He said assurances they would be dealt with ‘were not kept, leading to an ongoing hostile working environment’.
The tribunal found that there were multiple serious breaches of Ms Howieson’s contract and she was awarded £25,254 in compensation.
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