The tribunal found that Mr F Villani, who acted as a workplace rep for the Unite union at Bridlington Hospital, was ‘deliberately targeted' by senior managers in attempt to undermine his trade union with Unite activities. 

An internal email exchange from June 2023 revealed senior managers using derogatory language about Mr Villani, referring to him as a 'wasp' that needed 'swatting'. The tribunal found that this language exposed the employer's intention to suppress his union activities rather than address any genuine workplace issues and they wanted to 'clip the claimant's wings'.

In addition, the tribunal found that there had been repeated incidents where management had attempted to limit his union role and had encouraged colleagues to submit workplace complaints against him to deter him from continuing to report health and safety concerns. This was part of a wider pattern of hostility towards his union activities.

The tribunal ruled in his favour, ordering the employer to pay £10,000 in compensation for the distress and harm he endured.

However, Unite has expressed its concern that the manager in the email exchange remains Mr Villani's line manager and that other cases of trade union intimidation and detriment have been reported from the same employer.

Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said: 'It is shameful that union members and reps are still being targeted in this manner as if this was still the 1930s. That this was an NHS trust makes it all the more disgraceful.

'Mr Villani is a vital union rep keeping his colleagues safe and well at work. Yet he was the target of management at the hospital. Unite will never stand for such behaviour and I'm delighted the tribunal found in his favour. This must act as a stark lesson for other employers who may be tempted to try and treat union reps with anything less than respect and dignity.'

In response, a spokesperson for York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, said: ‘The trust accepts the tribunal's outcome, and we apologise to Mr Villani for his experience in this case.

‘We maintain productive relationships with all our trade unions and professional bodies, and the incident described does not reflect the broader, constructive working relationships we have with them.'