Workplace Sexual Harassment – You Don’t Have to Put Up With It!

Those who suffer sexual harassment at work have absolutely no reason to put up with it and should contact an employment lawyer without delay. In a case on point, a young woman who was showered with offensive WhatsApp messages by her boss was awarded substantial compensation.

Over a period…

Jun 30, 2022

Dimitri karastelev ynjawgrwslm unsplash 1024x683

Over a period of more than two years, the administrative assistant’s boss sent her a persistent stream of extremely distasteful, crude and, in many cases, shockingly racist messages. About 50 of them were memes of a sexual nature. Some of them were simply bad, misogynistic jokes whilst others included pornographic images.

Upholding her sexual harassment and victimisation claims, an Employment Tribunal found it extraordinary that a director and owner of a company would send such unwanted messages to an employee. She did not find them remotely funny and felt embarrassed and humiliated by their content. Almost any female employee would have been likely to feel the same way in the circumstances.

Her boss had also made a comment about her removing her clothes and a sexually suggestive remark when she bent down to pick up a pen. When she complained, he sent her a text message containing a veiled threat to report her allegedly undeclared cash income to the tax authorities. Together with interest, her total compensation award for injury to her feelings came to £19,000.

Can a Sham Procedure Comply With the Acas Code? Employment Test Case

Responsible employers who follow full and fair procedures in line with the Acas Code generally have a powerful defence to unfair dismissal claims – but what if a procedure is found to be a total sham? The Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) considered that issue in an important test case. The case concerned a senior employee who was purportedly dismissed on grounds of redundancy. In upholding her subsequent unfair dismissal claim, an Employment Tribunal (ET) found that the redundancy procedure was…

Disabilities Take Many Forms But Must Always Be Taken Seriously

No matter what shape or form a disability may take, employers are always required to take them seriously. An Employment Tribunal (ET) made that point in the case of a teaching assistant who suffered from a severe phobia of coming into contact with other people’s bodily fluids. The woman made no secret of her phobia, of which her employer was fully aware and which was agreed to be a disability. She became anxious after learning that a disabled pupil who required intimate care, including nappy…

Proving a Link Between Unfair Treatment and Discrimination Can Be Tough

It may be relatively straightforward to prove you have suffered unfair treatment at work, but establishing that such treatment results from discrimination can pose a far greater challenge. This was certainly so in an Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) case concerning a forklift truck driver. The man launched proceedings following two fractious confrontations between him and colleagues in the car park of the premises where he worked for a logistics company. He alleged that he was falsely and…