Firm must pay €54k after sexual harassment

A COMPANY owned by a prominent Donegal businessman has been ordered to pay almost €54,000 to a female employee whom he repeatedly sexually harassed.

The Equality Tribunal ordered that a firm which operates a supermarket and petrol station in a Co Donegal town must pay €53,976 to a former staff member.

The tribunal found that the man, whose identity is known to the Irish Examiner, had repeatedly engaged in sexual harassment and victimisation of the woman.

The tribunal ruled the firm had not taken reasonable and practicable steps to prevent the sexual harassment and victimisation by one of its directors.

The woman had complained that she was repeatedly sexually harassed by her boss through offensive and inappropriate physical contact and remarks of a sexual nature.

(Although the woman waived her anonymity in the case, the Irish Examiner has not published it for legal reasons.) She gave evidence that he regularly made inquiries about her wanting “a rub of the relic” – which the tribunal interpreted as a slang reference to masturbation.

On one occasion in 2008, while using a step ladder, she claimed he had put his hand into her blouse and squeezed her rib cage.

He had also once asked her son if she wore see-through underwear.

The businessman did not deny that many of the alleged complaints had taken place, including several incidents of groping his employee in her workplace.

The Equality Tribunal also heard evidence that the harassment intensified after she had reported the abuse to the shop manager and the supermarket chain’s regional manager.

Although she was given a written apology by the man, she found it vague and unsatisfactory.

The man told the inquiry that he wrote the apology to “keep the [supermarket] brand happy” and that he wouldn’t have made an apology in a different situation.

She also complained that her schedule was cut from 40 to 20 hours per week after she had complained about his behaviour. The tribunal heard she eventually felt she had no option but to resign her employment and claims it amounted to constructive dismissal.

The woman said she had also found it impossible to find a solicitor in her home town to represent her because they had some professional relationship with the businessman.

During the Equality Tribunal hearing, the man, who has a criminal conviction for assault, stated without hesitation that he would assault the same person again in similar circumstances.

The tribunal ordered his company to pay €26,988 to the woman as compensation for the sexual harassment and a similar sum for victimisation as a result of being constructively dismissed from her job.

The Equality Authority, which represented the woman, expressed concern that sexual harassment of workers still exists.

The authority welcomed the Equality Tribunal’s ruling to award the maximum amount of compensation to the woman – equating to two years’ salary.

“Our actions in supporting [the woman’s] convincing case are a strong signal that sexual harassment is totally unacceptable for any worker and is a toxin that impeded productivity in a time when many businesses struggle to survive,” said an authority spokesperson.