We spoke about an employer’s liability for incidents at work parties all the way back in 2019, I discussed the potential claims that can arise from such incidents.
However, one angle that we didn’t cover within that article was unlawful sexual harassment – something that a Starplan Furniture employee made a claim for in a recent case.
In this article, Chris Dobbs takes a look at this case, outlines what the tribunal ruled and sets out some key takeaways for employers.
Lyons v Starplan Furniture Ltd
Ms Lyons worked for Starplan, the furniture company based in Northern Ireland, as a designer and sales consultant.
In December 2017, at a work Christmas Party, Ms Lyons was sexually harassed by a colleague who made inappropriate advances and comments towards her.
After the unpleasant event, Ms Lyons raised a complaint to her line manager and a grievance investigation was followed.
What happened after the complaint was raised?
After submitting the complaint, Ms Lyons alleged that she was victimised by three of her colleagues; claiming to have been threatened and intimidated by their abusive language and behaviour.
She also felt that her manager and employer had “totally failed” to protect her.
Following this, Ms Lyons stated that she had “no option” but to resign. Ms Lyons launched a claim for constructive unfair dismissal and harassment under Northern Ireland’s sex discrimination legislation at tribunal, as well as some other smaller claims.
What did the industrial tribunal decide?
As this is a Northern Ireland case, the matter was heard before an industrial tribunal which said that the treatment of Ms Lyons at the staff party amounted to unlawful sexual harassment and partially upheld her claim of victimisation.
They also found that the claimant’s allegations of unfair dismissal were well founded as her resignation fell within the four key elements of constructive dismissal set out in Western Excavating v Sharp Limited.
Her resignation therefore came as a result of the sexual harassment and victimisation suffered. Ms Lyons was awarded nearly £19,000 in compensation of which £8,600 was for the victimisation.
How can employers avoid work party claims?
Chris Dobbs said: “Interestingly, in this case, the tribunal found that the company had not set out any behaviour or alcohol guidelines for the Christmas Party.
In addition, the most senior employee in attendance wasn’t given any supervisory duties.
I would suggest that employers take the opposite approach, clearly establishing rules and allocating supervising staff for work events, if you don’t already do so! This can help to prevent issues such as this one arising and mitigate any potential claims.”
What further advice do you have for employers?
Chris continues: “The largest single award in this case was for the victimisation aspect of the claim.
Victimisation under the Northern Ireland legislation is broadly similar to that we are familiar with under the Equality Act: unfavourable treatment of someone for having done a ‘protected act’ such as reporting alleged discrimination.
The Tribunal was clearly demonstrating here that retaliatory conduct against someone who raises a complaint should be particularly discouraged.
It compounds the negative experiences for the individual and in this case the award was made jointly against several individual respondents as well as the employer.”
Dealing with harassment allegations
“When allegations of discrimination, and especially harassment, are made in the workplace employers need to be aware of the risk of retaliatory behaviour.
Complete anonymity can make investigations almost impossible so employers do need to strike a balance between the viability of the investigation and protecting staff involved.
If nothing else, it is vital that staff are aware that retaliatory conduct is unlawful and it should be treated as a disciplinary offence.”
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