A dental nurse who fended off a hug and kiss from her boss at work has won a claim for unfair dismissal and sex discrimination.

An employment tribunal ruled that Colin Cromie, who runs Petre Dental, in Clayton-le-Moors, repeatedly victimised Xara Grogan after she rejected his advances.

Mr Cromie told Miss Grogan, who had been arguing with her partner Paul Talbot, that they were each with the wrong partners and attempted to hug and kiss her, the tribunal heard.

Before their relationship soured he would share ‘sexist’ jokes with her via texts and on one occasion offered to take her to Barcelona, the tribunal heard.

The dentist became ‘increasingly hostile’ towards her after she turned him down, treating her to ‘extended silences and outbursts’, according to the official ruling.

Miss Grogan succeeded in a claim for constructive dismissal, and partially in claims for sexual harassment and victimisation.

Further harassment allegations and victimisation claims did not succeed and the tribunal decided an alternative charge of direct discrimination was covered by the sexual harassment case.

Miss Grogan has been awarded a financial settlement from Clayton Projects Ltd, which trades as Petre Dental.

In her judgement, employment judge Katherine Ross said: “We find although there had been a high degree of familiarity between Mr Cromie and the claimant, based on her position in the extended family, their close working relationship and the sexual language which passed between them, attempting to kiss the claimant was an action which was physical and sexual and therefore different to anything which had gone before.”

Mr Cromie, a former major in the Royal Army Dental Corps, is ex-chairman of the East Lancashire Local Dental Committee.

Miss Grogan and Mr Talbot - who is Mr Cromie’s stepson - lived with the dentist and his wife Diane until around March 2008. Mrs Cromie was the practice manager at Petre Dental took the original complaint from Miss Grogan.

Speaking after the case, Mr Cromie said Miss Grogan had only succeeded in ‘two out of six’ claims and this was reflected in the ‘modest’ payout she had received.

He claimed she had only received £1,500 for the constructive dismissal, £15,000 for ‘hurt feelings’ and back pay she was owed.