In a widely reported case Frances Fricker has successfully sued her employer, Gartner, for sexual harassment.
Having already asked her manager not to refer to her as a “good girl” he continued doing so. Ms Fricker therefore referred the matter to more senior management and the matter was swept under the carpet on the baseless grounds that she had ‘flirted back’ with the manager. Various other comments were made such as telling her that her Facebook photo made her look fat and that she should change her LinkedIn photo because “You are beautiful…for once, trust your manager.”
After her grievance was rejected Ms Fricker resigned in October 2019 and has now succeeded in her claim before the Tribunal which acknowledged that “language evolves over time. Words and phrases that might once have seemed harmless are now regarded as racial, homophobic and sexist slurs.”
Ms Fricker’s claim of constructive dismissal also succeeded.
This case is a salutary lesson for employers as to the importance of stopping this kind of behaviour and comments. Under the Equality Act sexual harassment is defined as unwanted conduct relating to sex which has the purpose or effect of violating the other person’s dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for that person. Importantly the emphasis on the behaviour having the ‘purpose or effect’ can mean that harassment can occur even when the perpetrator does not intend to cause offence.
If you have any queries relating to this case or sexual harassment in the workplace please do contact our Employment Team on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form and a member of our Team will be in touch.