NHS worker Shirley-Ann O'Hara feared her hospital boss would hit her after she snubbed his sexual advances, a tribunal heard, writes Victoria Owen.

Project director Miss O'Hara, 31, said Colin Jones, the chief executive of the Nuffield Orthopaedic Centre NHS Trust, started flirting with her in the summer of 1997 - the morning after she was offered her job at the centre.

She claimed Mr Jones made advances to her on a number of occasions, despite her making it clear she was not interested. Finally, Mr Jones told her that her job was at risk during a heated meeting on her performance - leaving Miss O'Hara fearing for her safety. She is claiming constructive dismissal and sexual harassment against Mr Jones and the trust.

At the industrial tribunal in Reading yesterday, Miss O'Hara explained that she had not thought anything of Mr Jones' invitation to meet, the day after her interview at the Headington hospital.

She said: "I didn't think at the time that it was inappropriate. I thought the man just being friendly." But during cross-examination, Miss O'Hara, of Old Road, Headington, said that with hindsight, it was the first of a string of incidents, including advances and innuendoes.

In October, 1998, the two were returning from the regional NHS office after an important presentation. Mr Jones, 55, made comments about the state of his marriage and his affluent lifestyle, she said.

She said: "The topic of conversation was on a personal level, which I didn't think was appropriate. He was talking about his wife, which I thought was a personal marital affair. "I was trying to do nothing, to make it clear that I was not impressed. It was a very difficult position to be in."

She said Mr Jones, of The Farthings, Marcham, near Abingdon, did not take kindly to her continuous snubs. She claimed during her internal performance review, in March, 1999, the chief executive told Miss O'Hara that she "just could not manage". "He was basically saying I had to be nice to him to keep my job," she told the tribunal. "I was concerned that I was being threatened. Miss O'Hara, who resigned in August this year, added: "I was in fear that he was going to strike me. He was very aggressive and came round the table,"

The hearing was adjourned until early next year.

Story date: Wednesday 01 December

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