A MAN who was subjected to more than 12 months of constant harassment at Mount Vernon Hospital, including claims that being a Muslim interfered with his job, has been awarded more than £41,300 at an employment tribunal for sex and religious discrimination and unfair dismissal.

West Herts Hospitals NHS Trust were not represented at the tribunal held in Watford, something that Omah Ismail, director of the Watford Racial Equality Council, said "beggars belief."

After the hearing, Mohammed Ben-Khaled, originally from Algeria but who has lived in Watford with his wife and two children for five years, said he was delighted by the outcome.

He said: "I'm very pleased the case has come to an end and my concerns have been addressed. It never needed to go that far, but I was forced to use the employent tribunal because of the lack of co-operation from West Herts NHS Trust.

"There is still some pain over what happened but time will heal and I'm now looking forward to the future.

"I hope that there is no one else in the hospital system who is suffering what I suffered from."