• Tina Dilibe was the only medically-qualified professional at the Window to the Womb clinic in Swansea – but was made to clean despite her expertise, under threat of being “sacked and deported”
A black medical worker was forced to hoover (vacuum clean) and mop up at a clinic under threat of being “sacked and deported”.
Tina Dilibe was the only medically-qualified professional at the Window to the Womb clinic in Swansea – but was made to clean despite her expertise.
She moved to Britain after being recruited from Nigeria only to be forced to work extra hours as a sonographer and not allowed to take holiday dates, an employment tribunal heard.
A judge said bosses acted like they had “bought” Mrs Dilibe and that “black Africans imported into the UK were here to work”. The private baby clinic has been ordered to pay £33,000 compensation for race discrimination, Wales Online reported.
Employment Judge Claire Sharp and the panel found she had been subjected to “humiliating, offensive and degrading” behaviour at the clinic carrying out private scans of mothers-to-be.
The Window to the Womb Group’s director of ultrasound Jeanette Clewes told an officer from the Society of Radiographers: “You have to be careful, these Africans tell lies. These Africans all have hygiene problems, it is a real problem for us to deal with.”
The Window to the Womb chain claims to be the UK’s leading private baby scan clinics with 53 branches. 4D scans cost from £109 at their clinics throughout Britain.
It says: “At Window to the Womb, we are proud to offer our families an outstanding level of care throughout your pregnancy journey. Our clinics offer a range of private ultrasound scans from 6-42 weeks gestation, and are conducted by fully qualified, medical Sonographers.
“Our goal is to ensure you feel safe during your baby scan experience, which is why our staff undergo extensive training. Our clinic teams strive to offer you a first-class experience.”
The Cardiff tribunal was told Mrs Dilibe had been falsely accused of having poor personal hygiene and offensive body odour by her employers in a bid “meant to humiliate her”. Professional sonographer Mrs Dilibe was warned that if she refused to vacuum and mop the floors after the ultrasound scans, she would be sacked and deported.
Ms Clewes explained she “was just asked to hoover round the clinic and keep the area clean. I don’t think it’s unreasonable.” Employment Judge Sharp found the Swansea franchise owners Juliet Luporini and Anthony Woodcock had spoken to Mrs Dilibe “in a threatening manner”.
The hearing ruled she was a victim of racial discrimination and harassment. Mrs Dilibe resigned in November 2021 due to “unfavourable working conditions which I am no longer able to cope with”. But her bosses tried to “intimidate the claimant into staying”.
They told her she had less than 24 hours to pay nearly £6,000 as a penalty, or would face “immediate court action”.
Mrs Dilibe was awarded £33,611 by the tribunal, after it found she had been subjected to “humiliating, offensive and degrading” treatment.
The panel said over nine months with the company she “was required to carry out cleaning duties which were not part of her duties and were inconsistent with her status as a professional sonographer, including being required to vacuum the whole of the Clinic or to mop the floor of the scanning room.”
Judge Sharp said: “Mrs Dilibe was required to carry out delicate scans looking at and advising worried pregnant women about their babies. Yet she was treated as someone who could be forced to mop and vacuum floors, when there were three other individuals in the clinic whose role was to support the sonographer and the clinic, who used to do such cleaning before the claimant’s arrival.”
Speaking after the ruling, the Society of Radiographers said Mrs Dillibe had shown courage to “speak out about such appalling treatment”.
A spokesperson said: “Sadly, this is not an isolated case, and we are seeing an increase in precarious working practices, especially with the increase in international recruits being employed in the UK.”