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A catering chain was ordered to pay 3,500 euros to a former employee after a manager distributed two images to staff, including one of himself wearing only his boxer shorts.
At the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC), adjudicating officer Michael McEntee found that the 19-year-old caterer was sexually harassed because of her boss spreading the two images.
According to McEntee, the facts alleged that on December 7, 2019, the catering worker’s boss posted a photo of himself wearing only his boxer shorts in a web group chat.
The caterer alleged that her then-boss made suggestive sexual comments about the underpants.
Two days later, on December 9, the caterer alleged that her boss also posted in the group chat an image of male genitalia on top of a flat latte cup.
He said he found both images “quite unpleasant and very upsetting.
At the hearing, the images of the two groups’ web texts were shown to Mr. McEntee.
The worker reported the incidents to her employer six weeks later last January and claimed that an area manager suggested that she move to a different branch of the chain.
The caterer interpreted this as additional discrimination, as she was being asked to move in place of the alleged perpetrator.
He claimed that he found the stress of the whole situation too much and took sick leave on January 22, and resigned from the company on February 4.
In response to the complaint, the employer stated that it initiated an immediate investigation when it was informed and after an investigation, the manager was demoted from his manager role and reassigned to a lower rank to another branch of the chain.
The catering chain said at the hearing that the reported behavior was completely unprofessional on the part of a manager, but that it was done in the context of a web chat group involving men and women, was never repeated and was not targeted. no other complaints from other potentially affected personnel. members.
In his findings, Mr. McEntee stated that while the employer had been admirable in its post-incident actions, it was wrong at the preventive stage.
Mr. McEntee commented that the harassment took place and the actions following the incident, while admirable, arguably “closed the door after the horse is gone.”
In awarding the € 3,500 award for sexual harassment against the employer, Mr. McEntee stated that being a large employer of staff of mixed gender and nationalities, an oversight in providing training and awareness in this area was a management weakness .
Mr. McEntee noted that local management had received formal training on how to address sexual harassment and that the catering chain had recently commissioned a human resources consulting firm to conduct a company-wide training program in this area.
Labor law expert Richard Grogan represented the caterer in the case.
Mr. Grogan confirmed yesterday that the amount of the award is being appealed to the Labor Court.
He said: “We do not believe that the level of compensation awarded compensates our client for the sexual harassment she suffered.”
Grogan said that the images at the center of the case were “reprehensible and a very serious violation of his rights, but equally, in our opinion, those low awards can in no way be seen as an impediment for the employer to take the necessary measures to ensure let it not be repeated anymore ”.
The Dublin-based lawyer added: “Sexual harassment of men or women is a flagrant violation of the law on equality and dignity in the workplace” and said it is much more serious when the sexually harassed person is 19 years old.
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