£560,000 for RAF nurse in sex bias case
Payout after she was passed over for promotion for being a woman
THE highest ranking nurse in the RAF has been awarded more than half a million pounds after suing the Ministry of Defence for sexual discrimination. Group Captain Wendy Williams, 54, took the MoD to an employment tribunal after losing a promotion to a less experienced male doctor.
The tribunal ruled in June last year that the nurse, who helped treat injured personnel flown in from Afghanistan, should have been the preferred candidate for the role but ‘was not selected because of her sex’.
The role went instead to Group Captain John Gaffney, who had three and a half years less service at that rank than her.
After seeking compensation for being humiliated, demoralised and ‘totally let down’ by the RAF’s attitude to promoting women, yesterday she won £557,038 for sexual harassment.
The award included £204,079 for loss of earnings, £105,585 for pension loss and £22,000 for injury to feelings, plus more than £500 in interest.
Group Captain Williams was responsible for the command and control of treating personnel severely wounded in Afghanistan at Birmingham’s Queen Elizabeth Hospital.
In 2011, she escorted Prince Charles as he visited injured troops at the hospital, where the Royal Centre for Defence Medi- cine is based. That year, she applied to be the RAF candidate for the role of RAF, Navy and Army Commodore of the Defence Medical Group, having been a group captain since 2003.
However, the MoD selected Group Captain Gaffney. It said
‘An officer of great skill’
that while both were suitable for the role, he was more likely to succeed against candidates from the other Armed Forces.
Brigadier John Parker had told the tribunal: ‘Her performance, during a very demanding period, revealed an officer of great skill, energy, drive and potential as well as having an excellent understanding of the operational environment of an NHS Trust.
‘She demonstrated an ability to lead the military part of the joint operation in Birmingham.’
The registered nurse and midwife, who joined the RAF in 1984 and has now retired to Cambridge, told the Birmingham employment tribunal: ‘It was apparent the promotion process was stacked against me as a nurse and midwife.’
Tribunal judge Victoria Dean said that only six of 470 top positions among the Armed Forces medical staff had been held by women between 2011 and 2012.
The court also heard it was the RAF’s procedure to fill some medical roles that were theoretically open to doctors and nurses only with doctors.
After winning her case, Group Captain Williams, who was supported by the Royal College of Nursing, said: ‘I hope nurses in the RAF and the wider Armed Forces will have the opportunity to aspire to and attain more senior posts. This judgment represents an opportunity for the Armed Forces to ... shatter glass ceilings.’
The RCN described the result as a landmark and urged the MoD to adopt the recommendations of the tribunal, including more training in equality and diversity for those involved in promotion or recruitment.
Following the ruling, a spokesman for the RAF said: ‘We are disappointed. The RAF is fully committed to the Equality Act.’