Praising a female colleague's ‘conservative' attire is a ‘slur'

Telegraph

19 hours ago

Telling a female colleague that they dress in a 'conservative' way could be heard as 'a slur', a tribunal has ruled.
A male employee who makes such a remark is guilty of 'objectifying' his colleagues who could regard it as 'less than complimentary', an employment judge said.
The ruling came in the case of Jessie Danquah, a business consultant at Shell, who was sacked after 'bullying' colleague Naima Masud. He then sued his employer for discrimination on the basis that he held a 'philosophical belief in modesty'.
Judge Adam Leith, dismissing his claim, said it was 'objectively inappropriate' of him to state at a work event that his colleague was 'conservative' compared with others there 'who have their boobs out'.
It could have been interpreted by Ms Masud to mean 'frumpy' or other 'less than complimentary' adjectives, he said.
The tribunal in Croydon, south-east London, heard that Mr Danquah was employed in April 2022 as a £26,000-a-year business consultant for FDM Group, a business support services supplier. In August of that year he was sent on a placement to Shell, where Ms Masud worked.
In September he went to a work event organised by Shell at Bar Elba, a cocktail bar in Waterloo, central London, where he made alleged comments to Ms Masud including: 'I didn't expect people like you to be out that late.'
The tribunal heard that when asked what he meant, Mr Danquah replied: 'Muslim girls'. He also 'repeatedly called Ms Masud 'conservative' during the night, in reference to her personality and her hijab'.
Mr Danquah said the 'conservative' remark was intended to affirm his belief that 'she carried herself modestly'.
Comments were 'inappropriate'
A few days after this incident, Ms Masud told Mr Danquah that she thought his behaviour had been 'unprofessional' and that his comments about her being conservative were 'inappropriate'.
Ms Masud reported the remarks to HR and when Mr Danquah found out he offered to 'voluntarily suspend' his work, and was formally suspended later in September.
Mr Danquah apologised for the 'conservative' remark but said it was 'objectively true' and not meant to 'demean her'.
After it was decided that his placement at Shell would not continue, Mr Danquah sent an email to Ms Masud threatening to sue her for defamation.
In November 2022, he attended a disciplinary meeting which found that the email amounted to 'gross misconduct'.
He was subsequently fired from FDM Group over this and several other instances of misconduct.
Mr Danquah was told that his 'conservative' comment was a breach of the company's 'bullying and harassment policy and was associated with Ms Masud's sex, religion and belief'.
He sued FDM for race, sex and belief discrimination claiming that he held a 'philosophical belief in modesty'.
Dismissing his claims, Judge Leith said: 'Based on the evidence before us, we are not satisfied that [Mr Danquah] genuinely held the belief he professed to believe at the relevant times.'