A NHS trust in the North East has been ordered to pay a doctor more than £85,000 after unfairly sacking him. Dr Faisal Qureshi had worked for County Durham & Darlington NHS Foundation Trust for three years. He spent three months off work sick and when he returned, on January 22, 2024, his job was no longer there. Dr Qureshi was told he could book ‘ad hoc’ bank shifts rather than undertake the work he had previously done since January 2021. Mr Qureshi immediately resigned and took the trust to a tribunal in Newcastle for unfair dismissal. The trust originally contested it on the basis he was not considered to be an employee. On March 27 last year, they admitted he was an employee and had been unfairly dismissed. They were later ordered to pay him a total of £85,224.93. Dr Qureshi consistently worked Monday to Friday 9am–5 pm. His basic hours were 40 hours per week, paid at a rate of £50 per hour gross (£104,000 per annum). He also worked additional hours in the evenings and at weekends on a regular basis and received holiday pay in addition to his hourly rate of pay. He put in a grievance in May 2023 after raising concerns that he was not receiving the same benefits and protections as other employees. Discussions took place regarding proposed changed to the doctor’s terms and conditions that would have resulted in a reduction in his pay. He did not agree to the changed but made it clear he would consider a role in radiology if that was on offer. He had applied for various radiology roles biannually as a way of keeping his options open and obtaining interview practice. H e was successful at interview and had been offered positions but had declined them as he did not have the means to take a reduction in income to go into training. Dr Qureshi had a period of sickness between October 20, 2023 and January 22, 2024. The Care Group Director informed him, on his return, that he was only to take shifts via the Dagny mobile application moving forward. The doctor resigned with immediate effect due to the guarantee of regular work no longer being available to him. He followed up in writing the next day.. Dr Qureshi raised a further grievance on May 8, 2024 regarding unfair dismissal but never received an outcome. He claimed Jobseeker’s Allowance between January 29, 2024 and March 20, 2024. He started work on March 21, via an agency, at Queen Elizabeth Hospital King’s Lynn (QEHKL) in Norfolk. Due to the 215 mile distance from home, he stayed in rented accommodation during the week at King’s Lynn and travelled home on a weekend. His grandmother was critically unwell in hospital in Newcastle at the time. He said he did not feel able to consider undertaking additional bank work as he was exhausted from travelling 10 hours each week. He was also barely able to cope in the job with the added worry of his grandmother being under palliative care in the North East. T he only other opportunity was an even greater distance away on The Isle of Wight. Dr Qureshi’s employment with QEHKL ended on August 16, 2024. He was not paid holiday pay and was not enrolled into any pension scheme during this period of employment. He then took a pay reduction and accepted a £43,923 per annum position on a five-year training programme in radiology working for various NHS Trusts, led by Northumbria Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust (NHFT). His pay increased to £49,909 from October 2024 but there was no overtime or ability to work additional hours in the role. The tribunal on September 2 last year heard that, had the change not occurred, Dr Qureshi would have continued in the same role and earned the same rate of pay as previously. Employment Judge Moss ordered the trust to pay him the lump sum. A spokesperson for County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust said: “We accept the outcome of the Employment Tribunal. We will review the findings for any further action we need to take.” ChronicleLive has created a dedicated WhatsApp community for County Durham news. You can join this WhatsApp community here . It will keep you up-to-date with County Durham news as it breaks, sent directly to your phone.

Original source: gb