Two NHS experts were investigated and banned from the workplace to express their interest in organizing peaceful protests in support of Palestine during lunch break.
Therapists and nurses are threatened by threatening the “personal safety” of children and adolescent mental health services staff in Kensington and Chelsea and “disgraceful trust” to consider the demonstration. was accused of doing so.
The pair, whose Guardians are calling Leila and Maya, are said to have been unable to enter the building they worked for before being relocated to London’s new NHS workplace. I did.
A three-month investigation into the pair’s conduct found that they had no case to answer and that the trust violated its own disciplinary policy in their treatment.
Investigators said they had no intention of bullying other staff, but found it dangerous for two staff to take the job “as an indirect result” of their intention to organize a protest. .
The two experts submitted internal complaints to the NHS Foundation in Central and Northwest London.
A trust spokesman said, “We support management colleagues to perform safe services and to prevent issues such as actions and actions on sites that can disrupt clinical care.”
Layla and Maya are now taking over their trust in the Employment Court, alleging discrimination against anti-Zionist beliefs. The Guardian understands that the Trust has not yet received notice from the Employment Court.
This case serves as a test of whether NHS staff can express their opinions and take action on foreign policy issues. The issue has impacted NHS trusts across the UK and prompted reviews after complaints about staff wearing badges and other clothing items that support Palestinians.
In this case, the pair created a WhatsApp group named “Free Palestine” to discuss whether they were interested in the proposed strike or an overnight stay that doesn’t destroy patient care.
Layla said she had sought permission from the management before embarking on the action.
“We weren’t going to do anything in the clinic, or we were never going to put our patients at risk,” Leila said. “We saw NHS staff at Homerton and St. George do things at lunchtime (including all night) and we can see what is possible and how to start these conversations at work. We were talking about whether we could do it.”
Layla and Maya said they spoke to their colleagues about taking similar behavior. One was upset and filed a complaint.
The complaints seen by the Guardian confirm that Leila approached her colleagues and informed her that a debate had begun about a possible strike in solidarity with Palestine. “I wondered why this should be done at work, and I asked her to clarify what the strike was,” the petitioner wrote.
The petitioner discussed other people saying they wanted to participate in the protest, adding that such a strike was painful for “parents visiting clinics with Jews and Israeli children.”
No protests were made, but the next day, management emailed staff members and warned them that attending demonstrations during work hours could violate their trust policy.
A few days later, Maya was taken to another room at the beginning of work, informing her that she was under investigation. She was instructed to collect her belongings and leave immediately. The next day, the same thing happened to Leila. They were both said to be banned from the building and would be temporarily reassigned to another NHS service.
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As a result, Maya was signed sick for three weeks, but Leila became sick and quickly began to lose weight.
Leila and Maya said they worked so hard to continue working with their clients. “This is a specialized child and adolescent mental health service, working with the best children who are not in the hospital. These are children who are suicides and you are always watching them, they are The idea that you can just take away a consistent person you trust is very destructive,” Leila said.
While being relocated, they discovered that management interviewed colleagues and asked if the pair was safe to work with Jewish patients. They were also asked this question during the investigation.
Leila resigned from her role during the investigation, and Maya returned to work in the service after being cleared.
Layla is told she is not allowed to enter the building to say goodbye to her colleagues. “My supervisor offered to meet me on the street outside the building. They made me feel like a petty criminal.”
Maya claims that when she returned to work, she was told to remove the Palestinian badge from her coat because it was political branding. “But I’ve seen other staff members wear poppies, Ukrainian or Labour badges.”
Last year, the Employment Court concluded that the belief that Israel’s actions amounted to apartheid, ethnic cleansing and genocide is “worthy in a democratic society.”
In February 2024, the court ruled that Professor David Miller was unfairly discriminated against when the University of Bristol rejected allegations that he had made anti-Semitic remarks. The decision established that anti-Zionist views qualify as a belief protected under the British Equality Act.
A spokesman for the NHS Foundation Trust in Central and Northwest London said: We strongly support legal protests in a free society, but we believe in ensuring that the NHS is a safe and uncontrollable space.
“Our team’s top priority, including valuable time, resources and facility use of our clinicians, is to provide the best standard of care to our patients, maintaining public trust and trust, while also providing courtesy. It’s about being good, respect, working well. Together.”
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