The racist chief of a chain of luxury care homes has been outed for refusing to hire someone because they were black.
Cristina Bila, 61, demanded that managerial candidate Paulett Mills be taken out of the running for the position at Pondsmead nursing home in Radstock, Somerset.
Mrs Mills initially wowed interviewers and managers were keen to hire her because they believed she would be able to secure an ‘outstanding’ rating for the home.
Cristina Bila, 61, (pictured) demanded that managerial candidate Paulett Mills be taken out of the running for the position at Pondsmead nursing home in Radstock, Somerset
But after finding out the colour of her skin, Bila said she ‘did not want Mrs Mills because she was black’.
She then told colleagues to disguise the true reason behind Ms Mills’s rejection.
Details of the racist incident emerged after a senior staff member quit her job in protest and successfully sued Bila’s company, Avon Care Homes Ltd, for constructive dismissal.
Bristol Employment Tribunal heard that secretary Caroline Hobbs, 55, jotted down on Post-It Notes as Mrs Bila told how she ‘did not want Mrs Mills because she was black’.
She reportedly blasted: ‘To have black people in charge of a home like that is not going to work. I don’t have to explain it to anyone.
‘I will interview her and then say I don’t like her, I am not having her as a manager.’
After resigning in protest, Ms Hobbs then phoned Mrs Mills to warn her she wouldn’t get the job ‘because of the colour of her skin’.
Details of the racist incident emerged after a senior staff member quit her job in protest and successfully sued Bila’s company, Avon Care Homes Ltd, for constructive dismissal. Bristol Employment Tribunal heard that secretary Caroline Hobbs, 55, jotted down on Post-It Notes as Mrs Bila told how she ‘did not want Mrs Mills because she was black’
Speaking after the tribunal win, Mrs Hobbs, from Shepton Mallet, Somerset, said: ‘Cristina told me that black people in a management position were not the right image for her company.
‘I had no option but to walk. I couldn’t stand by and allow that behaviour. I had to tell Paulett that she was being racially discriminated against.
‘I don’t have a lot of money but I know I couldn’t stay because I was not brought up that way.
‘I was so worried that I wouldn’t get justice but I am so pleased the truth has come out.
‘Hopefully now discrimination at Avon Care Homes will stop.’
Mrs Mills, who has more than two decades of care home experience, applied for the manager post at upmarket Pondsmead in April last year.
The tribunal was told how Mrs Hobbs and Mrs Bila’s deputy, Julia Rea, feared she would not be employed if her skin colour was known.
Employment judge Christa Christensen said: ‘It was agreed that Mrs Rea would tell Mrs Bila that she had ”beautiful dark skin”.
‘It became clear to Mrs Bila that Mrs Mills was black. She was cross at Mrs Rea for not being clear enough the day before regarding Mrs Mills’s ethnicity.’
The tribunal heard that Mrs Bila then ordered a pre-decided second interview in which Mrs Mills would be rejected ‘because she did not want to employ a black home manager’.
Mrs Hobbs’s resignation note read: ‘I am unable to continue working for a company that has illegal working practice with regard to racial and colour prejudice held by the managing director.’
She is set for a damages payout at a later date.
Judge Christensen ruled: ‘The actions of Mrs Bila utterly undermined Mrs Hobbs’s ability to trust her employer.
‘She could not tolerate continuing to be employed on the basis that she was being instructed in terms to be complicit in recruitment practices that there were unlawful.’
Mrs Bila claimed the remarks alleged by Mrs Hobbs never took place, and that she did not know Mrs Mills was black.
She insisted in evidence that Mrs Hobbs cooked up a ‘premeditated plan to secure financial gain’.
But her account was rejected by the tribunal judge.
Judge Christensen said: ‘It seems inherently unlikely that the claimant has embarked upon a premeditated plan to bring a claim against the respondent to make a financial gain.
Mrs Mills is set to take legal action against Avon Care Homes next month.
She declined to comment ahead of her tribunal hearing.
Avon Care Homes Ltd and Cristina Bila refused to comment.