UK Woman Wins Rs 20 Lakh In Compensation After Boss Shouted She 'Must Be On Her Menopause' And Fired Her

Employed at a pet food retailer, Embark on Raw based near Billericay, Essex, she was harassed by her male employer due to her age and sex, the employer tribual said.

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New Delhi: A 54 year-old-sales assistant from Essex who sued her employer for age and sex discrimination after her boss shouted she "must be on her menopause" has won a £20,000 (Rs 20 lakh) payout.

Leigh Best, 54, was dismissed as a sales assistant for pet food retailer Embark on Raw, based near Billericay, Essex, for raising Covid-19 safety concerns, BBC reported.

An employment tribunal said she was harassed due to her age and sex and she was victimised. "This left her feeling humiliated and mortified," the tribunal said.

Best had joined the company — co-directed by husband and wife, David and Andrea Fletcher — on January 29, 2020 and remained there till May 11, 2020. In March 2020, during an argument over a mix-up with orders, David Fletcher shouted that "she must be on her menopause".

The tribunal awarded Best a sum of £20,057.74 at the East London Hearing Centre. This compensation included £680 as loss of wages, £4,000 for harassment and victimisation and £10,000 in relation to unlawful detriment. 

The tribunal found that Best was upset by Fletcher's "unwanted, obtrusive and inappropriate questioning about whether or not she was menopausal", BBC reported.

Talking about the incident, Best said that she found the subject "distressing and wished to avoid talking about it" and that it was a "private matter". 

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The highest award of £10,000 was given for the company failing to "properly investigate" complaints by Best and one more colleague regarding Covid safety at the workplace. 

"As a result no informed and balanced view of these matters was formulated or implemented," the ruling found. Her dismissal was "flawed" and she was left "misinformed, humiliated and mortified by this treatment", it added.