A woman in the UK went for an interview at a renowned hospital and believed that her anxiety disorder affected her interview performance, leading to not getting the job. The woman then sued the hospital, claiming flaws in the recruitment process and that her anxiety disorder was not taken into consideration. In the end, the hospital was ordered by the court to pay £7,720 (about RM40,800) in compensation.
According to the Daily Mail, the interviewee, Anahita Rezaei, interviewed for the position of 'Pathology Operations Manager' at a well-known UK cancer center in February 2024. The entire interview process lasted about 40 minutes, but ultimately another candidate received the highest score and was hired.
However, when the top-ranked candidate declined the position, the hospital did not offer the opportunity to the next highest scorer, Rezaei, but instead directly hired another person, which Rezaei felt was very unfair. Rezaei explained that she suffers from anxiety disorder and, under the high-pressure interview environment, may not have given concise answers, thus affecting her performance. Afterwards, she wrote to the hospital to appeal, but did not receive a reply for several weeks.
Unsatisfied with the unclear recruitment process, Rezaei decided to sue the hospital. The case was brought before the London Employment Tribunal. The court’s investigation found that the hospital's recruitment records were incomplete, with one interviewer’s scoring sheet missing, making it impossible to determine the actual ranking of the candidates.
According to the available information, out of three interviewers, two rated Rezaei as 2nd and 3rd place respectively, but due to the lack of a complete scoring sheet, the court could not ascertain who was truly the 2nd highest scorer, considering this a 'clear and serious oversight' by the hospital.
In addition, after Rezaei informed the hospital of her anxiety disorder, the hospital did not consider arranging a new interview or re-evaluating her score. The court ruled that the hospital could have taken simple measures, such as rescheduling an interview or reviewing the scoring, but did nothing, which amounted to a procedural flaw.
In the end, the court ordered the hospital to pay Rezaei £6,000 (about RM31,744) in damages for mental distress, £840 (about RM4,444) in interest, and £880 (about RM4,656) in preparation costs—a total of £7,720.