A bisexual NHS healthcare worker claimed she was being harassed on the grounds of her sexuality after she was called ‘mush’ by her colleague.
Lisa Webb claimed she was ‘misgendered’ when a co-worker called her mush, a slang word for ‘mate’ typically heard in southern England and Wales.
Ms Webb alleged that she was the victim of sex and sexual orientation harassment because it was meant in a derogatory way and it ‘translated as if a female was a male’.
Her NHS colleague Steven Lealman said he had used the ‘unisex’ term as slang for ‘mate or friend’ and meant it as a ‘term of endearment’.
Ms Webb also claimed that her colleagues had maliciously called her a ‘nutjob’ and a ‘nutter’ because of her sex and sexuality.
But an employment tribunal has dismissed her case against Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust.
An employment judge said staff did not know Ms Webb was bisexual and that the words did not amount to harassment.
The tribunal, held in Southampton, Hampshire, heard that Ms Webb started working at Ford Ward in Fordingbridge Hospital as a Band 2 healthcare assistant in 2018.
Lisa Webb worked at Fordingbridge Hospital in Hampshire when she claimed she was discriminated against for being bisexual
During her time working at Fordingbridge Hospital, Mr Lealman said a ‘tension’ had grown between them and he had said to her ‘oi mush are you ready?’ as a way to ‘re-build a light-hearted and friendly relationship’.
He said that coming from Southampton, he used the term often and had assumed that Ms Webb would be familiar with this slang.
The tribunal heard that Mr Lealman was not aware of Ms Webb’s sexuality at the time that he said this and did not mean it in an ‘abusive, discriminatory or harassing way’.
Mr Lealman also admitted that ‘in the heat of the moment’ he called Ms Webb a ‘nutter’ after she had probed him about his work ethic.
He said that he apologised immediately and realised he should not have said this, but that it had nothing to do with ‘being a woman or being bisexual’.
When Ms Webb was cross-examined at the tribunal, she claimed that these terms were racist and that they also related to her mental health. The tribunal dismissed these claims.
After some conduct issues at the hospital, Ms Webb was referred to an investigation and was redeployed to Lymington Hospital in January 2022.
Whilst working at the hospital, she sent an email to some of her colleagues in the middle of the night, headed ‘Coming out’, in which she confirmed her sexuality.
She was later transferred to Lymington New Forest Hospital (pictured) following conduct issues
In the email, she said: ‘Hi all, just letting you know I am 100% bisexual & proud to be part of pride’.
Ms Webb was later subjected to another investigation over her conduct after she made threats to staff. She claimed the investigation was related to her sexuality.
The healthcare worker was ultimately dismissed from her role and has now unsuccessfully sued for wrongful dismissal as well as harassment.
Employment Judge Jonathan Gray ruled that there was no discrimination or harassment based on sex or sexual orientation during Ms Webb’s employment at the Trust.
He said there was no relationship between calling someone ‘mush’ and sex or sexual orientation.
He said: ‘In any event, even if it were as she asserts, there is no relationship to sex or sexual orientation proven. Ms Webb herself has asserted the terms relate to mental health or are racist.
‘We also accept that it is inevitable that in the course of a bullying and harassment investigation, things would emerge which a complainant may not like, but that doesn’t mean they are acts of harassment. This allegation also fails.’
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Bisexual NHS worker sues for sexuality harassment over claims she was ‘misgendered’ by colleague who called her ‘mush’