At a recent judgment in East London, the Tribunal found that a woman from Essex was unfairly dismissed and discriminated against on the grounds of her age and sex.
Employment Solicitor Chris Dobbs takes a look at the case and further discusses menopause in the workplace.
Case detail
Leigh Best was dismissed by Embark on Raw, a pet food retailer, after she raised health and safety concerns during the coronavirus pandemic.
Her dismissal was found to be automatically unfair under s103 of the Employment Rights Act for having made a protected disclosure (whistleblowing).
Additional claims
Separately, however, Ms Best also successfully won claims for harassment on the basis of her age and sex as well as a victimisation claim.
What did the tribunal find?
In a relatively short judgment dealing with the discrimination points, the Tribunal found that Ms Best had been harassed when he made comments related to her age following some of the previous covid disclosures.
While Ms Best had asserted that comments were made specifically around her manager’s perception that she was menopausal, the Tribunal was not able to conclude that this specific comment was made.
What happened with the claims?
Instead the Tribunal did find that comments were made which has the effect of violating the Claimant’s dignity in respect of her age (in respect of covid survival rates for older patients) and in respect of her sex in an uncomfortable conversation about the menopause, albeit not her personal experiences.
The victimisation claim succeeded because, regardless of whether the above had been proven or not, Ms Best did make the allegation of a breach of her Equality Act rights to the company.
The Tribunal was satisfied that the complaints of ageism and sexism the Claimant had raised played a part in the decision to dismiss.
An Employment Solicitor’s View
Employment Solicitor Chris Dobbs says: “This case stands out in the menopause-related cases to date as it was not specifically about the Claimant’s own experiences of the menopause or, indeed, a dismissal for being menopausal per se.
Instead the focus was on the way in which conversations about the menopause may amount to harassment where they are not carried out carefully, proportionately and in necessary situations.
Harassment does not rely entirely on the intent of the alleged harasser and a Claimant can bring claims based on how they feel regardless of the intention of the actions.”
What can employers learn from this?
Chris continues: “Employers should also take note of the importance of ensuring that there is a distinction between a grievance raised by an employee and any dismissal (whether disciplinary or otherwise) especially where the complaint is under the Equality Act.
It is not an especially hard case for a Claimant to argue that a dismissal shortly after raising a harassment complaint might amount to victimisation.”
Comments