A female worker from company, Starplan, has been awarded £19,000 after being sexually harassed at a work Christmas party.
Shirley Lyons alleged that a colleague had touched her bottom, hugged her from behind without consent and commented on her breasts. The resulting Employment Tribunal deemed that it amounted to unlawful sexual harassment. Ms. Lyons was a designer and sales consultant for the company in Portadown, County Armagh.
Starplan has branches in Northern Ireland and England, and is one of the biggest bedroom and kitchen design firms in Northern Ireland.
Regarding the night of the incident, Ms. Lyons stated: “I made it very clear before I left the restaurant that I was not happy, I was really angry.” She was also “still in bewilderment” and “totally disgusted” by the treatment she received by her colleague.
A representative of the firm went on record and told BBC News that it regretted “any distress caused to Ms. Lyons”, adding “Starplan vehemently opposes any form of harassment.”
Ms. Lyons complained about the incident, but said that she was victimised by some of her colleagues, as well as her employer failing to protect her:
“My workplace no longer felt safe for me and I felt physically sick going into work in the mornings.
“I stood up to behaviour that shouldn’t be happening in any workplace.
“My manager and my employer totally failed to protect me both from the harassment and from being victimised afterwards.
“I had no option but to resign.”
Ms. Lyons raised allegations against three colleagues, whilst claiming that she received intimidation and abuse once the initial complaint was made.
“I was threatened – I was totally isolated by the other ones,” Ms Lyons said.
“At times I thought it was so hopeless – I thought: ‘What on earth?’
“But my strength came from I knew exactly what happened.
“I lived it, I experienced it and that was the biggest thing for me – I could tell the truth and I would be standing by that.
“I thought if this is the treatment they’re going to give me I’ll stand my ground, I will fight this.”
The claims were partially upheld by the Employment Tribunal. The claim of unfair dismissal was upheld, whilst other lesser claims were not. Waiving her right to anonymity, Ms. Lyons has shared her identity and her story and received an award of £18,857.18 in compensation.
The tribunal also found that Starplan had no guidelines for behaviour relating to consumption of alcohol at such events, and that the most senior company representative was not formally delegated the task of supervising the event. The Quality Commission said that this case highlighted an important lesson for all employers.
The Chief Commissioner, Geraldine McGahey stated that such events were an extension of the working environment, adding that the employer should have acted to prevent victimisation of the claimant after the official complaint was made.
McGahey stated:
“Work parties and outings can be an important element of reward, recognition and team building. But like any other area of work, employers must ensure everyone attending is safe and their dignity is respected.
“If that doesn’t happen and staff have cause to complain they must be protected from victimisation.
“Most employers realise that behaviour by their staff at work parties “reflects back on the reputation of the organisation. So it’s really important that employers do step up to the plate and be proactive in these situations”.
Our Psychiatric Injury team says:
It is not known if Ms Lyons included a claim for personal injury as part of her discrimination claim, but it is worth remembering that this is possible. Claimants who have been subjected to unlawful harassment at work can make a claim for personal injury where there is some medical evidence to show that the conduct has impacted upon their mental health.
At Oakwood Solicitors, we specialise is psychiatric injury claims and would be happy to review any enquiry on a free assessment basis.
Further reading
Bullying and harassment at work – Oakwood Solicitors
WHAT TO DO NEXT
Get in touch today for a no-obligation consultation. Choose one of the methods on the right-hand side of this page, or call us on 0113 200 9720 to find out how we can help you with your enquiry.
Jessica Rowson started as a Paralegal at Oakwood Solicitors in July 2010, qualifying as a Solicitor in September 2013. Following her qualifying as a Solicitor, Jessica established a niche department …
Are Any of Your Staff Close to ‘Breaking Point’ Because of Stress?
Most of us assume that we’re pretty switched-on when it comes to colleagues at work. Many of us have good relationships with co-workers, exchanging chatter, jokes and what …
View
Stress Awareness Day – Signs of stress and how to combat it
We can all feel overwhelmed with life at times, particularly as we are living in an age of ever-escalating prices, worldwide political instability and intermittent fuel and energy uncertainties he…
View
Bullying in the workplace – What is bullying and how do I deal with it?
The problem many people have with bullying at work is that it can be difficult to determine when a line is being crossed in the early stages, leaving such issues to be dealt with once they have st…
View
