A trust has been forced to pay nearly £80,000 to a black manager who won a race discrimination claim at an employment tribunal.

The tribunal concluded that the discrimination suffered by former forensic services manager Jane Addo 'was achieved by the deliberate actions of the senior employees of a public authority, including their chief executive'.

Surrey Hampshire Borders trust was ordered to pay a total of£79,297 by the south London tribunal, which found that it had dismissed her unfairly and discriminated against her on the grounds of her race.

Ms Addo applied for four posts after her old job was eliminated following the merger of Heathlands trust - her original employer - and North Downs Community trust, to form Surrey Hampshire Borders trust. She was not appointed to any, and was subsequently made redundant in April 1998.

But the tribunal concluded that an interview for the new post of clinical service manager - conducted by then chief executive Anne Williams, organisation and service development director Elizabeth Buckle and mental health director James Bosworth - was 'not genuine', citing 'lack of evidence of any balanced attempt' to match Ms Addo's skills and experience to the post's requirements, and the trust's failure 'to comply with its own procedures'.

The tribunal pointed to the 'calculated abuse of redeployment procedures' and the trust's failure to accord Ms Addo redress through its appeal procedures, including a£7,500 sum for 'aggravated damages'.

Unison South East regional official Paul Scivier, who represented Ms Addo, said: 'If ever there was a case where justice deserved to be done, it was this one. The trust did not treat her as they should have. '

A trust spokesperson said an internal disciplinary inquiry had found that 'no case could be brought' against the two directors and the chief executive. Ms Williams has since moved to the US 'for purely personal reasons', the trust said.

Following an external consultant's review, the trust had also appointed diversity and equal access advisers and introduced diversity awareness training for those involved in recruitment and selection.

In June 1998 Ms Addo took a post at Broadmoor Hospital Authority as first level nurse, becoming clinical nurse manager in September 1999.

A Commission for Racial Equality spokesperson said the award was 'right up near the top' of race discrimination payouts in the NHS. But he warned: 'This is indicative of the kind of damages that trusts which do not improve their practices could face in future. '