A REGISTERED nurse who was forced out of an East Lancashire care home - after blowing the whistle on a violent incident involving a resident - will receive a £31,000 payout.

Jalal Udin Ahmed, who worked at Heightside, in Rawtenstall, raised the alarm when he witnessed a colleague attempting to trap a service user's fingers in a door during an altercation, an employment tribunal heard.

He reported the matter to his line manager the following day and the member of staff concerned was suspended, pending an investigation.

But within weeks the home's registered manager, Joshua Henley-Adams, had begun an investigation into Mr Ahmed, in which he sought evidence from a number of his fellow workers, the tribunal heard.

Later he would be invited to a 'probationary review meeting', the hearing was told.

Tribunal judge Marion Batten said a number of irrelevant questions had already been posed to his colleagues, including queries on how much time he spent on his phone, whether he had borrowed money off them or if they trusted Mr Ahmed.

Judge Batten said that "vague or generalised" comments were then made by staff - however Mr Henley-Adams did not challenge them in an way on the veracity of their claims.

The tribunal heard that Mr Ahmed was not given a copy of the alleged complaints against him. And he was told though he had acted correctly, in reporting the violent incident, he "just wasn't quick enough".

Mr Ahmed was eventually dismissed from the home, for failing to meet the required standards during his probationary service, and a later appeal was also rejected.

The nurse complained he had been given the "cold shoulder" by colleagues after acting as a whistleblower.

His colleague, who he had originally accused, was found guilty of gross misconduct but escaped with a final written warning, the hearing was told.

Ruling that the nurse's claims of detrimental treatment and unfair dismissal were well-founded, Judge Batten said Mr Henley-Adams had acted as "judge, jury and executioner" in Mr Ahmed's case.

His £30,932 compensation award included 13 weeks of back pay.