Belarusian doctor fired from job in the UK. She didn't understand Britons' habit of discussing the weather with her
A doctor from Belarus, Maryna Anatolyeva, who worked in the UK's National Health Service (NHS), lost a court claim for alleged unfair dismissal amounting to £100,000. The court concluded that the woman was justifiably dismissed due to an insufficient level of professional communication skills, reports The Independent.
47-year-old Anatolyeva underwent postgraduate training in "anesthesiology" at St Helens and Knowsley Hospital (Merseyside county) between 2018 and 2022.
During the case hearing, the woman admitted that she found it difficult to maintain casual conversations during work and that she did not understand the British habit of frequently discussing the weather, noting that such conversations were less common in Belarus.
Anatolyeva had previously claimed that she faced less friendly treatment due to her origin, Russian language proficiency, and "neurodiversity," but these arguments were dismissed by the court.
During her training, Belarusian managers and colleagues repeatedly noted the need to improve her communication, leadership, and teamwork skills. Finally, in 2022, she was informed that without progress, she might be dismissed from the program, and in October of the same year, she was indeed excluded from the training.
The court noted that in the work of an anesthetist, especially in emergency and surgical care, not only technical knowledge but also the ability to effectively interact with colleagues, manage team work, and correctly assess the situation are of crucial importance.
Maryna Anatolyeva also claimed that her manager allegedly hinted that working as a consultant was not suitable for her as a single mother and a person from a different cultural background. The manager, however, denied this, and the court found her testimony more convincing than the Belarusian woman's claims.
Consequently, the court found Maryna Anatolyeva's dismissal lawful and rejected all of the Belarusian woman's demands.
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В Беларуси же отношение к общению на работе совсем другое: у нас ценится прямота, конкретика и разделение личного и профессионального — пришел, сделал свое дело, ушел. То, что для белорусского врача кажется естественной рабочей сдержанностью, британские коллеги могли счесть высокомерием, холодностью или отсутствием командного духа. Очень жаль, что профессиональные качества ушли на второй план из-за банального несовпадения культурных привычек