LONDON – A British woman sacked from her healthcare job by Zimbabwean boss Olinda Chapel could be in line for a hefty payout after she won her claim for unfair dismissal at a tribunal hearing.
Amber Stoter told the tribunal that she was sacked 48 hours after complaining that Chapel’s now ex-husband, Tytan Nkomo, was “sexually inappropriate” with her.
Chapel, better known for being a socilalite, is CEO of Gain Healthcare in Bicester, Oxfordshire, where Nkomo held a managerial position in June 2023.
After Stoter, 30, posted a picture with a caption saying “working hard in the sun,” Nkomo commented saying “that’s not the only thing you make go hard.”
Nkomo also called Stoter his “girlfriend,” it was heard.
Company director Chapel sacked Stoter because she viewed the allegations as “problematic,” the Reading Employment Tribunal concluded.
The tribunal heard Stoter started working as a manager for the health firm on June 5, 2023.
On June 26, she had a discussion with her line manager Jessica Cannon and raised concerns about the conduct of Nkomo.
At the time, he was married to the founder and CEO, Chapel. They announced their break-up in 2024.
The tribunal said he occupied a management position, but noted that this was disputed by Gain Healthcare, who said he was “not an employee.”
Stoter told her line manager that Nkomo had been “sexually inappropriate” with her and had told her she was “like his girlfriend.”
She said on one occasion, while they were in a car together, he told her “don’t allow men to look at you like that, you are part of my property” after she “half-smiled” at a man.
And, on another date, he responded to a picture of her with a caption reading “working hard in the sun,” with the comment “that’s not the only thing you make go hard.”
The tribunal heard that during the conversation with Cannon, Stoter was asked to show the messages she had been sent by Nkomo but said she was unable to do so as their chat had disappearing messages.
Following their conversation, Cannon decided that Nkomo should stop working from the office, the Daily Mail reported.
The morning after their chat, against the wishes of Stoter, the line manager also spoke to Chapel and stated that her husband had apparently sent inappropriate texts to Stoter.
The next day, Chapel told all managers via a WhatsApp group that she was going to hold performance review meetings.
She met with Stoter on June 28 and the employee was dismissed following a “heated” conversation in which Stoter became “distressed,” the panel heard.
It was heard she felt “ambushed” in the meeting and told Chapel that she had “done this because of what your husband did.”
In her dismissal letter, Gain Healthcare set out several reasons for Stoter’s dismissal, which included how she had allegedly “been witnessed leaving our premises to frequent the neighbouring tanning studio during contractual working hours.”
They also said she was fired for sending an “excessive” number of messages to colleagues on a WhatsApp chat, among others.
In her witness statement, Chapel said: “I dismissed her because of her exceptionally concerning and escalatory behaviour during my one to one with her.”
Upholding her claims of unfair dismissal on ground of protected disclosures, Employment Judge Colin Baran said: “Overall, the Tribunal concludes that the principal reason for (Stoter’s) dismissal by Chapel was the making of the protected disclosure about Nkomo….
“The Tribunal concludes that at the time of dismissal Chapel knew of the fact and nature of the disclosure – reports of sexually inappropriate conduct by her husband towards (Stoter), a new member of staff.
“Such a disclosure, if properly acted upon, would have been problematic not just for (Gain Healthcare) but also for Chapel personally.”
Stoter also won a claim of victimisation.
A remedy hearing to decide her compensation will take place in September.
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