Doctor to get pay out for medical charity sacking

A doctor has been awarded more than £16,500 in compensation after being dismissed by a medical charity.

Dr Anna Williams was sacked after she was found to have bullied a colleague while employed by Lincolnshire Integrated Voluntary Emergency Service (LIVES) in February 2024.

Williams made nine claims against the charity and two complaints, that she was treated unfairly after reporting safety concerns and that she was wrongfully dismissed without notice, were upheld.

A statement for the charity said it was "always confident that it has acted properly in this case and is content that the overwhelming majority of the judgement is in our favour".

Williams said: "I am currently planning to appeal the unfair dismissal, and the appeal documentation is in the process of being submitted."

Williams was dismissed by the Horncastle-based charity after a disciplinary investigation found she had bullied a colleague.

The tribunal panel accepted that the behaviour of Williams "did not fit neatly" within the charity's bullying and harassment policy definition but they concluded that her conduct, the nature of her comments, together with the "personal campaign" she undertook against the colleague amounted to misconduct.

Employment judge Kimbra Welch found that this misconduct meant that LIVES were justified in dismissing Williams and therefore her claim of unfair dismissal was not upheld.

In October 2025, an employment tribunal heard Williams had reported concerns about a new recruit's conduct to LIVES management before escalating the complaints to the East Midlands Ambulance Service and the Health and Care Professions Council.

The judge also said that Williams' conduct "bordered on a personal vendetta" but her actions did not constitute "gross misconduct justifying summary dismissal" and as such she was wrongfully dismissed without notice.

They also determined that Williams was treated unfairly after whistleblowing and should receive compensation.

At a hearing at Nottingham Justice Centre earlier, Welch said: "We accept the claimant felt embarrassed, sad and heartbroken by being subject to the disciplinary hearing and that some of this should be reflected in the award made."

Williams was awarded £8503.32 for the wrongful dismissal claim and a further £8,000 for injury to feelings which is compensation given to an employee who has been treated unfairly.

In a statement, LIVES said it considered the two complaints upheld to be "legal technicalities".

A spokesperson added: "We were extremely disappointed the case necessitated a hearing but happy the case has been determined in our favour and we can continue to focus on the critical issue of saving lives."

Williams said that she was "subjected to disciplinary action after raising patient safety concerns. I maintain that I never bullied anyone."

Update 06 March: We have updated this article to include a response from Dr Williams, who says she is appealing the ruling and maintains that her conduct involved whistleblowing and patient safety and not bullying. We have also included further details from the finding, including how the panel said that Dr Williams's conduct did not fit neatly within the charity's own bullying policy, but did amount to misconduct.

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