A Northern Ireland woman has been awarded a £90,000 payout (approximately Rs 90 lakh) after she complained of her manager slapping her bum with a ruler at a workplace.
The woman settled her case alleging sexual harassment at work after being supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.
The commission said that woman mentioned in the complaint, "In 2021, whilst the woman was at a meeting in her workplace, she was told to stand up and turn round, and then slapped on the bottom with a ruler by one male manager in front of another male manager. The male manager who slapped her laughed and said, 'I'm sorry, I had to'. "
"The woman looked at the other male manager and asked, 'Is that allowed?'. Both the men treated it as a joke, and they also told other employees who then arrived at the meeting what had happened," it added.
The woman went ahead to complain to senior managers only to be marked as a ‘troublemaker’.
The Commission said that the woman "raised a grievance, which her employer did not acknowledge for 10 days".
"When the result of her appeal came through, her employer raised concerns regarding her behaviour in the workplace. They alleged that she had dressed and behaved in a provocative manner, which she vehemently denies, " the Commission noted.
It added, "The woman was shocked and extremely aggrieved that this letter contained further attacks on her character. She felt that this was further harassment and that the company was blaming her for what had happened."
Reacting to the settlement, Chief Commissioner Geraldine McGahey said, "To me this is a shocking story. There is something badly wrong with a workplace where this sort of behaviour is acceptable. This case demonstrates a toxic laddish culture that shows scant respect for female colleagues. "
"This young woman felt she had no option but to resign from her job. She did not feel her employer was treating her as a victim of sexual harassment, rather it was treating her as a troublemaker. She lost faith that any of her employer's actions were in her interest or that they ever took her concerns seriously. The investigation made her feel like a perpetrator rather than a victim, " he said
The Commissioner said, "The lesson here for employers is that they should take preventative action to ensure that everyone knows that sexual harassment at work is completely unacceptable. It is vital that women who seek help from their employers are not blamed for what happened to them. It is essential that concerns raised by any woman are treated seriously, to address the culture where this can happen, focus on how it was allowed to happen, and make a practical and helpful response after the incident. Failure to protect women at work means an employer is letting women down."