Current location:travel >>
Calling a female colleague a 'pretty woman' at work is sex discrimination, tribunal rules
travel369People have gathered around
IntroductionCalling a female colleague a 'pretty woman' at work is sex discrimination, a tribunal has ruled.Sugg ...
Calling a female colleague a 'pretty woman' at work is sex discrimination, a tribunal has ruled.
Suggesting that a women's looks might help the business is not 'flattering' and risks 'diminishing' her as it wouldn't be said to a man, an employment judge found.
The ruling came in the case of an accounts manager who sued her employers after her boss told her to attend a meeting - because a male client liked 'pretty women'.
Emma Nunn said she was left feeling 'humiliated and undermined' when Adam Crouch extended the invitation purely for her physical appearance, the employment tribunal heard.
He then 'demeaned' her further by telling her to 'calm down' when she refused, before signing off his message with 'babes', it concluded.
Miss Nunn resigned from her £60,000 a year job and is now in line to receive compensation after winning her claim of sex discrimination with the judge ruled the comments were 'reducing her value to the business' and wouldn't have been made to a male colleague.
Calling a female colleague a 'pretty woman' at work is sex discrimination, a tribunal has ruled (Stock photo)
The Leicester tribunal heard Mr Crouch took over trucking firm G. & M.J. Crouch & Son, in the city, from his father in 2015, but Miss Nunn had known him as a longstanding family friend since she was 18.
She had worked part time within the vehicle recovery services business before agreeing on a permanent role on in February 2020.
Miss Nunn told the panel their particular friendship led to a 'blurring of the nature of their working relationship'.
'Mr Crouch did not speak, consult with, or treat any another female employee like he spoke and treated me,' she said.
'The 20 year friendship came with significant consequences - I tolerated his behaviour as best I could.
READ MORE: Calling a woman 'glamorous' at work risks undermining or belittling them, tribunal rules as beauty queen lawyer loses claim that her female boss racially discriminated against her by using the termAdvertisement
'He was not speaking to me like a boss more like a husband disappointed in a wife (me).
'At one level I was a trust confidante, someone to let off steam to, to disclose inner most secrets and feelings to and next I was a normal employee.'
However, the tribunal found this dynamic of not being 'a purely professional working relationship', was actually 'encouraged' by both of them.
In April 2021, Mr Crouch - who is married - sent her a message about an upcoming meeting saying: 'oh yeah you should come as [a customer] is attending - he likes pretty women.'
When she queried this, replying 'I am not coming if just for pretty face', he told her to 'calm down' and signed off with 'ok babes xx'.
In a subsequent email to Mr Crouch complaining about her treatment, she asked: 'Is that all I get recognised for that I am attractive?'
She resigned later that month, saying she felt 'humiliated and undermined' and took the firm to the tribunal, making a series of claims of sex discrimination and harassment.
While most were dismissed, the 'pretty woman' complaint was upheld.
Employment Judge Rachel Broughton said: [We] find that the 'pretty face' comment would not have been said to a man, or an equivalent comment made about a male colleague's physical attractiveness as a reason for being invited to a work meeting.
'It should have been obvious to him that such a comment would be unwelcome.
'It was not flattering [Miss Nunn], it was reducing her value to the business in that context, and what she would contribute to the meeting.
'The Tribunal conclude that the reference to 'pretty' is sexual in nature. It is about her physical attractiveness and in this context, her physical attractiveness to the opposite sex, a customer.
'The implication is that [the customer] finds her sexually attractive and would for that reason get some pleasure at looking at her in the meeting and/or interacting with her.
'The comment was sexual in nature and was said because of her sex, that she is a woman.'
EJ Broughton concluded that by referring to her as 'babes' in his response, he had 'demeaned her further'.
'Babes' in this context was not affectionate, it was making fun of her reaction and the impact his first comment had,' she continued.
'She felt she was being diminished in terms of her importance to the business and her concerns were being dealt with flippantly, [we] conclude that in this context she was genuinely and reasonably, aggrieved at both not being invited and being told that she should come not because of her work but because the male client considered her attractive.'
The judge concluded 'pretty women' and 'babes' were used 'because of [Miss Nunn]'s sex'.
'Mr Crouch would not have dismissed her concerns in the way he did, but for her sex,' she added.
'He was flippant because of the relationship they had but he used those specific terms because of her sex.
'She was upset and felt diminished professionally by his comments and the tribunal consider that it was reasonable for her to feel that way.'
A further hearing to award compensation will take place at a later date.
Tags:
Reprint:Friends are welcome to share on the Internet, but please indicate the source of the article when reprinting it.“Global Glance news portal”。http://trinidadandtobago.spaceforanything.com/html-56e899090.html
Related articles
Burglar hurled stolen mobile phones at police from the top of 60ft high roof during nine
travelA burglar hurled stolen mobile phones at police officers from the top of a roof during a nine-hour s ...
【travel】
Read moreBrit reveals all the wild items she bought in an American Walmart
travelA Brit has revealed all the wild items she bought in an American Walmart - as she admitted some of t ...
【travel】
Read moreSchlupp scores goal
travelLONDON (AP) — Jeffrey Schlupp scored an 87th-minute wondergoal to rescue a point for Crystal Palace ...
【travel】
Read more
Popular articles
- Jessica Biel CHOPS her long locks into a bob after book signing in Studio City
- Emily In Paris star Lily Collins shares behind the scenes pictures from the make
- The REAL reason Garden Rescue host Charlie Dimmock never shows her own home's garden on screen
- Elliss, Jenkins, McCaffrey join Harrison and Alt in following their fathers into the NFL
- Mystery artist who erected signs comparing pothole
- Summer Movie Guide 2024: All the films coming to theaters and streaming
Latest articles
Iran helicopter crash that killed President Raisi could reverberate across the Middle East
Freight train derailment, fire forces Interstate 40 closure near Arizona
Inside Ayrton Senna's last hotel room
MacKinnon, Nichushkin lead 5
Red Lobster seeks bankruptcy protection after closing some restaurants
China launches 504
LINKS
- 2023 Beijing Culture Forum to be held
- Pic story of dancing couple in China's Xinjiang
- China launches new remote sensing satellite
- Guideline cleans up pollutants
- Charli D'Amelio flashes a thong in a sheer black skirt as she narrowly avoids awkward run
- Diverse cultures, radiance of glory
- Unfazed by danger and power, Guatemalan cardinal keeps up fight for migrants and the poor
- Chinese scientists precisely monitor solar radiation on Earth's surface
- China's satellite launch suffers abnormality
- 2023 CIFTIS revitalizes ancient Beijing Central Axis through technology