A British male nurse won a sex discrimination lawsuit involving his female boss whom he accused of bullying and harassment and of making a sexist remark about him, The Telegraph reported.
Pete Marsh, a qualified nurse with the Manchester University National Health Service (NHS) Trust, will be compensated, after his internal complaints against Senior Manager Lisa Sanchez were rejected, an employment tribunal ruled, per The Telegraph.
Marsh, the only male member of the inner city Cheetham and Crumpsall NHS team in Manchester, reportedly alleged that during a July 2018 staff meeting, Sanchez greeted every female staff member by name on entering and on leaving said “goodbye ladies,” ignoring him entirely.
A February 2019 team meeting addressing poor staff morale devolved into an altercation between Sanchez and Marsh in the presence of 10 female colleagues, the outlet reported. Marsh complained of being ostracized but Sanchez said people could speak only when spoken to. Marsh left the meeting, calling for Sanchez to sort herself out. Sanchez allegedly replied, “You need to man up!” (RELATED: Washington Post Reporter Files Discrimination Lawsuit Against Paper)
Male nurse told to ‘man up’ by his female boss in front of a room full of women wins sex discrimination case
Senior manager Lisa Sanchez deliberately excluded Pete Marsh when saying ‘goodbye ladies’ as she was leaving a meetinghttps://t.co/zGjDNn9H9d— Amanda Vos (@AmandaVos7) August 23, 2023
Sanchez’s irritation with Marsh appeared to have begun in 2018 when he complained to Sanchez about her siding with a colleague while mediating a disagreement between the colleague and Marsh over the colleague refusing to receive help from Marsh, LBC reported. Sanchez also reportedly fostered a divisive atmosphere in the team by demanding to know who on the team was part of Marsh’s trade union.
Marsh took time off work, citing stress, and made a formal complaint against Sanchez and other colleagues that eventually was rejected, The Telegraph noted. Marsh reportedly left Sanchez’s team in November 2019 and sued the NHS in April 2020, alleging sex discrimination, trade union detriment, and disability discrimination.
The tribunal decided that Sanchez was “intentionally divisive and intimidatory” and that her comment that Marsh should “man up” was “said in [the] heat of the moment and was unprofessional.” It also “accepted [Marsh’s] evidence that he had often been the butt of jokes or remarks about being the only man in the team or about his sex,” LBC noted. The tribunal also noted Sanchez’s “developing animus” toward Marsh and that her greeting “goodbye ladies” was deliberate.
Marsh’s compensation will be set later, per LBC.