Latest news with #workplaceharassment
Daily Mail
a day ago
- General
- Daily Mail
Female law firm worker sued for victimisation after male colleague mentioned 'pretty privilege' and told her 'good girl'
A female law firm supervisor sued for victimisation after complaining about a male colleague discussing 'pretty privilege' - where better looking women are more likely to succeed. Catherine Guinee reported Aaron Hodges to bosses for claiming that attractive women are more likely to secure contracts, an employment tribunal heard. The 49-year-old also complained that he had said 'good girl' to her and his remarks led to him receiving a warning about the 'need to be careful about his use of language in the workplace'. However, after Miss Guinee lost her job shortly afterwards she launched legal proceedings claiming the firm had failed to investigate her allegations properly. Her claims were dismissed after the tribunal ruled that her employers had not ignored her complaint. The hearing in central London was told Miss Guinee started working at Pogust Goodhead, a London-based law firm with over 500 staff members, in March 2023. The firm set up a call centre for people to make claims relating to the diesel emissions scandal, with Miss Guinee - who suffers from multiple sclerosis - hired as a client services supervisor. The hearing was told that shortly after she started she made the complaint to boss Urika Shrestha about colleague Mr Hodges. Employment Judge Anthony Snelson said: 'We find that, probably very early on [Miss Guinee] did complain privately to her colleague about an exchange with Mr Hodges in which he had said 'good girl' to her and another in which the two had discussed 'pretty privilege', the notion that female candidates regarded as good-looking were more likely to secure training contracts than others seen as less attractive. 'We accept [Ms Shrestha's] evidence evidence that she spoke with Mr Hodges and reminded him of the need to be careful about his use of language in the workplace.' The tribunal did find that Ms Shrestha did not tell Miss Guinee that she had had this conversation, however, The tribunal heard that on April 11 - ahead of a meeting - she sent a message to her boss complaining about competition within the team. She sent another message to the head of HR, saying: 'I have relapsing remitting multiple sclerosis. I do not need mind games, being messed around, being pulled one way and another.' She then approached another line manager, clearly agitated, and started shouting that things were 'bullshit' and that she was being denied her access to certain reports because she was a woman. When the meeting started, when a colleague was speaking, Miss Guinee started pointing and shouting at her, the hearing was told. She again complained of 'bullshit' and called her a 'little girl', which shocked the other members of the team. She then called Mr Hodges 'adopted', 'scummy' and a 'money-grabber' and claimed Ms Shrestha was treating staff like 'slaves'. Ms Guinee was then asked to go home and it was later agreed by colleagues that she should be fired as 'she did not meet the standards required for her role'. She then sued for disability and sex discrimination as well as victimisation. Regarding Mr Hodges' remarks, the tribunal said: 'We find that there was no 'failure' to follow up the complaint' and also ruled that her gender and MS had nothing to do with her being fired as no one involved knew of her illness. EJ Snelson said: 'If, as we find, the decision to dismiss was taken at a time when the decision maker had no knowledge of the relevant medical condition, it follows that that condition cannot have been the reason, or a material reason, for the dismissal. 'It was common ground that at the time of dismissal [Miss Guinee] had taken no sick leave. She exhibited no symptoms in the workplace. 'The person who dismissed her was the very person who had interviewed and appointed her only a month earlier. The notion that he was disposed to discriminate against on her grounds of sex is entirely unsubstantiated. '[Miss Guinee] was dismissed in accordance with her contract, under which [Pogust Goodhead] was at liberty to terminate on notice.'
Daily Mail
a day ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE 'Creepy' surgeon charged with groping six female colleagues flicked admin worker's nipple after spotting her piercing, court hears
A top surgeon flicked a female colleague's nipple after spotting her piercing through the bodysuit she was wearing, a court heard today. On another occasion Dr Amal Bose, 55, allegedly squeezed the administrative worker's breasts and said 'I'm just looking for a pen' when she handed him a leaving card to sign, a jury was told. The 'creepy' NHS consultant also responded by seeing her eating a lollipop by saying 'I've got something better for you to suck on', it was alleged. She claimed that when he later stuck his hand inside a wrap dress she was wearing and asked why she was wearing shorts underneath it, she retorted that it was to 'protect from you'. Dr Bose is accused of groping the breasts and bottoms of six female colleagues at Blackpool Victoria Hospital in Lancashire. Medical staff felt unable to challenge the 'toxic and sexualised' culture he created due to his 'position and authority as a senior consultant', according to the prosecution. Instead hospital workers would attempt to dismiss his behaviour by saying 'That's just Amal', Preston Crown Court has heard. Today jurors were played a recording of a police interview with the administrative worker who is the alleged victim in nine of the 14 counts of sexual assault he faces. She said on one occasion while at work she was eating a lollipop when she encountered Dr Bose, who said: 'I've got something better for you to suck on.' Asked by the detective what she took that to mean, the woman - who cannot be named for legal reasons - replied: 'A bl*w job.' The woman said Dr Bose's behaviour when she first started working with him was comparatively 'tame'. When new staff joined the department 'we'd always warn them about Amal', she said. But when he was promoted to a more senior role in 2021 it was like someone had 'flicked a switch,' she said, and it got 'progressively worse'. On one occasion she said she was in another consultant's office when Dr Bose came in and began 'looking me up and down, looking at my chest'. 'I had nipple piercings,' she said. 'They were obviously visible, I didn't realise. 'So he flicked my nipple through my bodysuit and then left.' Saying she felt 'mortified' and 'sick', she said she told the other consultant what had happened but he 'wasn't listening'. The incident was a 'green light' to Dr Bose, she said, apparently making him feel: 'What else can I get away with?' But she didn't confront him or complain as he 'would have carried on' anyway, she added. 'On a weekly basis he would smack my bum, he'd grab my boobs,' she said. Later she was in the cramped ward kitchen making her lunch when Dr Bose came in and stuck his hand inside her wrap dress, she said, commenting: 'What have you got shorts on for?' She replied that it was to 'Protect from you,' she told police. The woman said she hadn't worn the 'expensive' dress since then. On another occasion, she said she approached him with a leaving card to sign, only for him to grab her breasts and say: 'I'm just looking for a pen.' She said she replied: 'I don't keep my pens down there Amal.' The witness said she felt 'sick' as she believed other colleagues had seen what he did. 'If someone saw something they'd never admit to it and never challenge it,' she said. But later she said one female colleague walked in on them both in the kitchen while Dr Bose was groping her and asked the consultant: 'What the f*** are you doing?' The doctor allegedly replied: 'I'm just checking her groin.' He then 'smirked' and walked away, she said. The woman said Dr Bose would tug at the waistband of her pants and try to put his hand inside when he found her alone, to which she would tell him to 'pack it in' and 'behave'. She began wearing high-waisted Spanx underwear in order to combat his unwanted advances, she added. Saying there was always 'banter' between medical and administrative staff, she said with other doctors it was 'consensual' and 'we know what lines we can't cross'. But Dr Bose 'would always cross those lines' and 'get a kick out of it,' she said. The 'creepy' consultant allegedly told one nurse that his fantasy was to tie her up and tried to persuade her to go back to a hotel room to 'show her a good time'. However medical staff felt unable to challenge the 'toxic and sexualised' culture he created due to his 'position and authority as a senior consultant', according to the prosecution. Instead hospital workers would attempt to dismiss his behaviour by saying 'That's just Amal', the trial heard. When he was arrested on March 21, 2023, Dr Bose was recorded on police video telling the officer: 'It was only flirting.' Dr Bose is charged with 14 counts of sexual assault on six female colleagues between 2017 and 2022. He denies all the charges.
Daily Mail
2 days ago
- Health
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Respected surgeon groped the breasts and bottoms of female colleagues and pulled down a ward sister's top, trial hears
A highly respected surgeon groped the breasts and bottoms of female colleagues including a doctor and several nurses, a court heard today. Dr Amal Bose, 55, allegedly pulled down a ward sister's top, exposing her bra and breasts, and told her: 'I thought that is where you put my cup of tea.' On at least two occasions when female staff were on their knees completing a hospital task, a jury heard the 'rude and arrogant' surgeon told them: 'I like it when you are down there.' 'Creepy' Dr Bose told one nurse that his fantasy was to tie her up and tried to persuade her to go back to a hotel room to 'show her a good time', it was alleged. However medical staff felt unable to challenge the 'toxic and sexualised' culture he created due to his 'position and authority as a senior consultant', according to the prosecution. Instead hospital workers would attempt to dismiss his behaviour by saying 'That's just Amal', the trial heard. When he was arrested on March 21, 2023, Dr Bose was recorded on police video telling the officer: 'It was only flirting.' He went on trial today charged with 14 counts of sexual assault on female colleagues. The surgeon is accused of assaulting six women between 2017 and 2022. They accuse him of feeling their breasts, slapping their bottoms and, in one case, slipping his hand inside a nurse's wrap-around skirt to touch her groin, Preston Crown Court heard. Dr Bose denies all the charges. The trial heard that doctors at the hospital swapped 'banter and sexualised joking' on WhatsApp groups with names such as Cardiac Sluts and Work Slags. Huw Edwards, prosecuting, told jurors that all the assaults took place at Blackpool Victoria Hospital in Lancashire. 'This was an abuse of his position and authority as a senior consultant at the hospital,' he said. 'It was a toxic and sexualised environment that he created by his behaviour with his sexualised jokes and comments and his slapping nurses' bottoms and grabbing their breasts. 'The complainants we have here were employed by the hospital in roles significantly below Dr Bose who were not in a position to challenge his behaviour. 'It was a toxic and sexualised culture under his leadership. 'His behaviour was a well-known fact in the department and new staff were advised on how to deal with it. 'People would say "that's just Amal".' Mr Edwards said nine of the 14 counts involve the same woman. Dr Bose allegedly targeted her repeatedly, on occasion 'flicking' her breasts, slapping her bottom and making inappropriate comments about how he would like to touch her groin. The woman, who cannot be identified, 'struggled' so much with his behaviour that she asked to be put on a four-day week and only returned to full-time working after Dr Bose was suspended, the prosecutor said. A nurse claimed Dr Bose told her his fantasy was to tie her up. One night after a staff party he tried to persuade her to go back to his hotel room where he would 'show her a good time', it was alleged. A ward sister told police she met Dr Bose a corridor and told him she had moved his cup of tea. He allegedly pulled down her top, exposing her bra and breasts. When she retorted 'That's enough of that' she said he smirked and told her: 'I thought that is where you put my cup of tea.' Dr Bose had a leading reputation in his field which made it harder for colleagues to make a complaint against him, Preston Crown Court (pictured) heard today The court heard that Dr Bose was thought of as a top class doctor with a leading reputation in his field and that this made it harder for people to make a complaint against him. One junior doctor who worked under him told how she was shocked when he grabbed her breasts from behind. When she later complained to him about his behaviour he said he could not remember it. Mr Edwards said the woman later asked to be moved, adding: 'Tellingly, she did not want to take her compliant further because she feared it might affect her career. 'He was a man is a position of power.' Dr Neil Britton, a consultant anaesthetist at the hospital who worked with Dr Bose, told the court he was 'creepy especially around female members of staff'. 'I know all workplaces have a level of banter but it was quite different with Dr Bose,' he said. 'There was a lot of sexual jokes although I can't remember exactly what they were. 'But if he saw that his jokes were making someone uncomfortable it would seem to encourage him. 'I do know he told me that one female member of staff needed "a good shag". 'I remember he would take a lot of young students into his office and they seemed to be always female.' Dr Britton it 'made me feel sick' when he was told what language one member of staff was subjected to. But he agreed with defending barrister Tom Price KC that 'banter and sexualised joking' were part and parcel of many workplace environments, especially in highly pressurized ones like hospitals. He was also asked if he knew of a WhatsApp group called Cardiac Sluts to which he said: 'No.' But he admitted to belonging to another group called Work Slags to which he sent a picture of a camper van which bore the legend Dr Wiggles Weiner Wagon. He captioned it: 'Got a picture of Amal's new car at the weekend.' Several messages on the group referred directly to Dr Bose but also contained pictures of things like a supposed scented candle called Sweaty Bollocks. Mr Price said: 'It shows the level of humour in the department, doesn't it?' Dr Britton agreed but said no one in the group was 'uncomfortable about it'. Another doctor who gave evidence, Dr Gillian Hardman, told the court that one female colleague told her: 'The first time he groped me I just went to the bathroom and cried.' Dr Hardman - who is not one of the alleged victims - described Dr Bose as 'rude and arrogant'. She admitted there was some sexual banter on the wards and that it continued on WhatsApp groups like Work Slags.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Health
- BBC News
Hospitality workers experiencing 'horrendous harassment'
Hospitality workers have described harassment in the industry as "horrendous".It comes as a union has called for zero tolerance towards workplace harassment and free transport home for late shift the union has described sexual comments, unwanted advancements and degrading situations for secretary for Unite Hospitality Nathan Young said it was important for hospitality workers to say "no more". Mr Young, who has worked in the sector for a decade, in cafes and fast-food outlets, said: "Some of these issues have been endemic and have been endemic in the industry for a very long time. "There hasn't been change. People come into the industry often young, often not really sure of their rights."The issues that I see now are the same issues that there were years ago. Even with larger societal changes around feminist issues or social issues, that kind of thing." Mr Young said many young people begin working in hospitality, where they encounter bad experiences from customers and management. He said a number of issues have been raised by workers."It could be anything from making sexual comments repeatedly, making advances to people who have rejected people multiple times," he said. "There was one workplace we had where some of the chefs were keeping a list of most 'rapable' front of house staff."So it goes from some pretty mild stuff to some really, really horrendous stuff."Mr Young added: "Management's attitude is very often, 'comments were made outside at a work party so it doesn't concern that us', or 'they're good for the company', or 'we'll have a look into that', or 'you can't really prove that happened on work time'. "It's things that in any other industry you'd hope would be would be stamped out pretty quickly." 'Duty of care' Fellow Unite member Ross Lopes-Lister said the union is calling for changes to licensing laws to include a responsibility to ensure night-time economy workers get home safely."We think it should be the employers responsibility and part of the licensing laws, that it's their duty of care, that they ensure that their workers get home safe," he said."This is the start of something bigger. There needs to be a cultural change, yes there needs to be a change within society that this sort of behaviour goes on full stop - but we have to start somewhere." Eva Martin from Rosa, a socialist feminist organisation, has previously worked in hospitality."This conversation is long overdue," she said."It is very much a spectrum, it can range from comments to unwanted physical touch and that can be from both customers and colleagues and I think the realities of power dynamics that exist in hospitality - that's a huge issue that we need to tackle."Often most hospitality workers will have personal stories of having experienced abuse, or just unacceptable behaviour from customers. "Things that might be deemed throwaway comments but are acutely unacceptable and are rooted in sexism or misogyny or racism or transphobia, whatever it may be." Unite general secretary Sharon Graham said the union was "calling time" on harassment and would not accept workers being abused or "forced to walk home in fear". Neil Moore, lead regional officer for hospitality workers, said the union wanted to free transport made a condition of every new liquor and entertainment licence.
CNA
3 days ago
- Business
- CNA
NewJeans responds to latest court ruling on independent activities
The legal representatives of K-pop girl group NewJeans have responded to a recent court ruling which stipulated that each of the group's five members would have to pay 1 billion won (US$726,800) every time they engage in activities without the approval of South Korean music label Ador. After unilaterally ending their contracts in November 2024, citing workplace harassment and other issues, NewJeans carried out numerous independent activities, including opening a separate Instagram page, providing free food to protestors in South Korea last December, rebranding to NJZ and performing at the pop culture festival ComplexCon Hong Kong in March this year. In January this year, Ador filed an injunction to halt NewJeans' independent activities, which the Seoul Central District Court granted on Mar 21 – days before the group's ComplexCon Hong Kong performance. After their ComplexCon performance, NewJeans declared that the group will go on a hiatus to respect the court's ruling. NewJeans is currently appealing against the injunction. View this post on Instagram A post shared by COMPLEX 中文 (@complexchinese) On May 30, the Seoul Central District Court announced that it had accepted Ador's application for an indirect compulsory enforcement – a type of penalty imposed for not complying with a court order – against NewJeans. As such, the court declared that each NewJeans member will have to pay 1 billion won for every unauthorised activity performed from May 30 onwards. In response, NewJeans' legal team said the recent court ruling is "not related to the ongoing appeal of the original injunction decision". 'Today's indirect compulsory enforcement decision is only temporary until a ruling is made on the injunction appeal,' wrote the team. 'If the NewJeans members win the appeal, both the injunction and the indirect compulsory enforcement decision will become null and void. In practice, when an injunction is granted, a corresponding indirect compulsory enforcement order is typically issued as well.'
