Latest news with #snogMarryAvoid
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Playing 'snog, marry, avoid' with colleagues at work could be sexual harassment and may breach the Equality Act, judge rules
Playing 'snog, marry, avoid' with work colleagues could be sexual harassment, a tribunal has ruled. The risqué quiz involves naming three people and then asking a person to pick which one you would like to kiss, which one you would get married to and which one you would steer clear of altogether. It has appeared in popular culture, including in BBC hit comedy Gavin and Stacey, when Pam, Mick, Gavin and Smithy played a version of it featuring celebrities during a car ride from Essex to Wales. However an Employment Judge has said the game may breach the Equality Act. The ruling came in the case of a police officer who sued Derbyshire Police after a female colleague involved him in a game - using images of sex workers. The officer admitted to the tribunal that she had 'jokingly' played the game with co-workers and included PC Shafarat Mohammed in their discussion. Employment Judge Stephen Shore suggested that the officers may have referred to the game, which has several names, by a cruder version. PC Mohammed claimed that during the discussion in May or June 2022 he was only shown images of black women and was asked what he liked about one of them. He said he was 'embarrassed' and 'offended' by the questioning and felt it was inappropriate. Another officer at Pear Tree Station in Derby, PC Kate Northridge, candidly admitted to the hearing in Nottingham that a group of officers played the game with suspect photos. She said she had been the one to include PC Mohammed in the game but she had not asked him specific questions about any of the images. Speaking about snog, marry, avoid, EJ Shore said: 'The game was crass and inappropriate. 'It casts no one who participated in it in a good light. EJ Shore said it was possible 'that the conduct that is agreed could constitute harassment of a sexual nature'. However, he added 'no such claim was made' by PC Mohammed, who had launched his claim for racial discrimination and not sexual harassment. 'We agree with [him] that the questions were inappropriate,' EJ Shore added. The tribunal heard that PC Mohammed joined the force in November 2021 and completed his training in March the next year. He resigned less than a year later, in September 2022, and then made an employment tribunal claim for racial discrimination and harassment. The tribunal found there was no racial or religious element to it as the sex workers were of varying ethnicities. They also concluded that he was not asked questions about a specific black sex worker and that his credibility was undermined by a lack of consistency between his different accounts. PC Mohammed made several allegations including that a colleague called him a 'road man', he was 'humiliated' for eating home-made food, and told he was 'shit'. The officer also claimed that another PC said the custody team was 'all black and ethnics', he was asked about his familiarity with alcohol, and that he had been ostracised from team events. However, the tribunal found these allegations were either entirely fabricated by PC Mohammed or were given 'a retrospective gloss of alleged discrimination' in his witness statements which often contradicted each other.
The Independent
2 days ago
- The Independent
Police officer asked colleague to play ‘snog, marry, avoid' game using sex worker and suspect images
Police officers played a game of 'snog, marry, avoid' using photos of suspects and sex workers, a tribunal has heard. A female constable from Derbyshire Police showed colleagues photos of women of mixed race and colour and asked her Asian colleague whether he liked them. The game was 'crass and inappropriate' and cast no one from Pear Tree station in Derby who participated in it in a good light, the tribunal members said. Shafarat Mohammed, who quit as a police constable after just 10 months, tried to sue Derbyshire police for discrimination and harassment over the game and other incidences, making a string of claims he said were based on his race and religion. The tribunal dismissed his claims, saying they did not amount to religious discrimination and his written evidence had a tendency towards exaggeration and was 'quite vague' in respect of many of his claims. The panel members added in their written judgement: 'We found that the claimant rowed back on several of the strong assertions that he made in his witness statement when under cross-examination.' They said Mr Mohammed, who was of Pakistani heritage, exaggerated events 'to put a retrospective discriminatory spin on them'. The claimant said that in May or June 2023, he was asked by a female PC, Kate Northridge, to look at photographs of 'black female suspects' and comment on whether he liked them. 'The claimant was offended and embarrassed by the conversation and alleges the line of questioning was inappropriate and racially motivated,' the tribunal said. Members said the polite name of the game was 'snog, marry, avoid'. But it was agreed that PC Northridge showed photographs of female sex workers of various ethnicities – Black, Asian, and white. The claimant alleged that PC Northridge asked questions about one specific photograph, asking him what he liked about her. The panel concluded: 'The 'game' was crass and inappropriate. It casts no one who participated in it in a good light.' It was possible that the conduct could constitute harassment of a sexual nature but no such claim was made, they said. 'We find that the claimant's inconsistency on the colour of the sex workers whose pictures he was shown (he alleged they were all black, only to agree that they were of mixed race and colour) undermines his credibility on the point about being directed to a picture of a Black sex worker and asked a question about her. 'We find that that part of the claimant's allegation is not credible,' the tribunal ruled, but members agreed that the questions were inappropriate. Mr Mohammed's other claims included another female colleague, Abigail Lynam, saying: 'Shaf, you're s***.' The panel agreed that witnesses for the police force said that PC Lynam could be abrupt with colleagues, irrespective of their colour, ethnicity, or other protected characteristics. He also claimed he was excluded from social events and sandwich runs. But his evidence was inconsistent, the members said. 'As with many of the claimant's allegations, there was an element of truth in the allegation that quickly evaporated under cross-examination and/or the more credible evidence of the respondent's witnesses,' the tribunal concluded.
Telegraph
2 days ago
- Telegraph
Police officers played ‘snog, marry, avoid' with images of sex workers
Police in Derbyshire played a game of 'snog, marry, avoid' while using images of suspected sex workers, a tribunal was told. Shafarat Mohammed sued the force for racial discrimination and harassment after a female colleague involved him in the game, which involves naming three people and asking someone to pick which one you would like to kiss, marry and avoid. At the hearing in Nottingham, the woman officer admitted she had 'jokingly' played the game with co-workers and included PC Mohammed in their discussion. In the tribunal's ruling, the judge said that playing the game at work could breach equality legislation. Employment Judge Stephen Shore suggested that the officers may have referred to the game, which has several names, by a cruder version. PC Mohammed claimed that during the discussion in May or June 2022, he was shown images of black women and was asked what he liked about one of them. He said he was 'embarrassed' and 'offended' by the questioning and felt it was inappropriate. 'Crass and inappropriate' PC Kate Northridge, another officer at Pear Tree Station in Derby, admitted to the hearing that a group of officers played the game with photos of suspect. She said she had been the one to include PC Mohammed in the game but she had not asked him specific questions about any of the images. Speaking about snog, marry, avoid, Judge Shore said: ' The game was crass and inappropriate. It casts no one who participated in it in a good light.' The judge added that playing the game 'could constitute harassment of a sexual nature', although he acknowledged that Mohammed had not made that claim. 'We agree with [him] that the questions were inappropriate,' he said. Racial discrimination and harassment claims The tribunal heard that PC Mohammed joined the force in November 2021 and completed his training in March the next year. He resigned less than a year later, in September 2022, and then made an employment tribunal claim for racial discrimination and harassment. The tribunal found there was no racial or religious element to it as the sex workers were of varying ethnicities. They also concluded that he was not asked questions about a specific black sex worker and that his credibility was undermined by a lack of consistency between his different accounts. PC Mohammed made several allegations including that a colleague called him a 'road man', he was 'humiliated' for eating home-made food, and told he was 'sh*t'. The officer also claimed that another PC said the custody team was 'all black and ethnics', he was asked about his familiarity with alcohol, and that he had been ostracised from team events. However, the tribunal found these allegations were either entirely fabricated by PC Mohammed or were given 'a retrospective gloss of alleged discrimination' in his witness statements which often contradicted each other. PC Mohammed, a Pakistani heritage Muslim, lost his case for racial and religious discrimination and harassment.
The Guardian
3 days ago
- The Guardian
Ex-police officer loses discrimination case over ‘snog, marry, avoid' game
A former police officer was asked by a colleague to take part in a game of 'snog, marry, avoid' using images of sex workers and criminal suspects, a tribunal has heard. Shafarat Mohammed attempted to sue Derbyshire police for racial discrimination and harassment after he was asked to take part in the game by a fellow officer. The quiz involves naming three people and then asking a person to pick which one you would like to kiss, which one you would marry, and which one you would avoid. Employment judge Stephen Shore said playing the game in the workplace could amount to sexual harassment and may breach the Equality Act, adding that the officers might have referred to the game – which has several names – by a cruder version. But ultimately Mohammed lost the case as he did not make a claim of sexual harassment and his other complaints were dismissed. Shore said: 'The 'game' was crass and inappropriate. It casts no one who participated in it in a good light. It is possible that the conduct that is agreed could constitute harassment of a sexual nature … no such claim was made by [Mohammed].' Mohammed's colleague PC Kate Northridge admitted to the tribunal that she had 'jokingly' played the game with co-workers and included Mohammed in their discussion. Mohammed claimed that during the discussion in May or June 2022 he was only shown images of black women and was asked what he liked about one of them. He said he was embarrassed and offended by the questioning and felt it was inappropriate. Northridge, his colleague at Pear Tree station in Derby, admitted to the hearing in Nottingham that a group of officers played the game using photos of suspects. She said she had been the one to include Mohammed in the game but she had not asked him specific questions about any of the images. The tribunal heard that Mohammed joined the force in November 2021 and completed his training in March the following year. He resigned less than a year later – in September 2022 – and then made an employment tribunal claim for racial discrimination and harassment. The tribunal found there was no racial or religious element to it as the sex workers were of varying ethnicities. Mohammed, a Pakistani-heritage Muslim, lost his case for racial and religious discrimination and harassment.
