A woman who was slapped on the bottom with a ruler by a male work colleague has settled her sexual harassment case for £90,000 after her employer claimed she had 'dressed and behaved provocatively'.
The Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has highlighted the case with its chief commissioner, Geraldine McGahey, saying that it 'demonstrates a toxic laddish culture that shows scant respect for female colleagues'.
To protect her identity, neither the woman nor her employer can be named.
In 2021, while 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 Equality Commission for Northern Ireland has highlighted the case with its chief commissioner, Geraldine McGahey (pictured), saying that it 'demonstrates a toxic laddish culture that shows scant respect for female colleagues'
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 men treated it as a joke and told other employees, who arrived at the meeting, what had happened.
She felt so humiliated and embarrassed by the incident that she could not initially tell her mother or her boyfriend.
When she did, they advised her to approach the HR department and a more senior manager.
She told her employers she would not return to work until the matter was addressed.
She turned down an offer to meet the more senior manager and the manager who slapped her on the bottom in a coffee shop off-site to see if they could resolve it, but she felt this was entirely inappropriate.
The manager involved subsequently resigned from his job and did not work out his full notice.
She raised a grievance which her employer did not acknowledge for ten days.
The result of the investigation into her grievance took five weeks to come and, while it upheld her grievance, she says it also contained untrue and disparaging comments about her.
The woman appealed against the content of the grievance outcome letter and then resigned as she felt she could never return to work with the employer.
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 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.
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.
'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 employer 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.'
As part of the settlement agreement, the employer has undertaken to work with the Commission to ensure that they have comprehensive polices on sexual harassment and to train all managers and staff appropriately.
English (United States) ·