A female barrister who was called ‘glamorous’ has lost her claim for race discrimination, harassment and victimisation.
Jeniffer Campbell, who is black, told an employment tribunal that the comments from her manager at the London Borough of Waltham Forest were “offensive”.
This referred to an incident when a new member of staff was being shown around the office and Campbell was introduced as “the glamour corner”, referring to the fact that she would do her hair and make-up every day for work.
Campbell, who worked as a contract lawyer for the council via an umbrella company, was “mortified” that she had been introduced in such a way rather than as a barrister or lawyer.
Employment judge Sophie Park said that “in a business context, we have concluded that being described as glamorous is potentially inappropriate”.
Tribunal decisions
Finance worker wins £32,000 after ‘hormonal’ comments
Manager laughing at ‘slapstick’ fall not harassment, tribunal rules
“Looked at objectively, it could be taken as undermining or belittling the person being described, making them seem less serious and professional.”
Her relationship with her manager, Alexandra Jacobs, was also tainted by a number of other incidents, the tribunal heard, including an email where she was asked to deal with a matter “at some speed”, which Campbell found “condescending” and “different”.
In a meeting with Jacobs, Campbell said her manager had described her writing style as “not vanilla enough”, whereas she had insisted it should be safer and blander.
Campbell made a number of complaints about Jacobs’ management style to her agency, Sellick Partnership, claiming she was frequently undermined. She also accused Jacobs of discussing client concerns in front of colleagues “in a public and humiliating manner”.
During the summer of 2020 when many council employees were working remotely, Jacobs attempted on a number of occasions to meet virtually with Campbell to discuss her workload and any lingering issues around her management style.
Campbell repeatedly turned down invitations citing workload or clashing commitments. She had also agreed to a new, condensed working pattern where she would work three days in the office and some additional work remotely on Thursday and Friday.
However, she emailed Jacobs in mid-July 2020 stating she had completed her hours for the week on a Wednesday and would not work Thursday and Friday. The council said this went against the original agreement.
After multiple attempts to secure meetings with no progress, Jacobs terminated Campbell’s contract with Sellick Partnership and her engagement with the council later that month.
Campbell told the tribunal she was given no reason for the termination. The council refuted this, claiming that another contract lawyer on the team had returned from maternity leave so they could not justify an additional person. It also cited a number of contract complaints.
The tribunal dismissed her claim for direct race discrimination, ruling that she had not been treated less favourably than others on grounds of race. Her claims of harassment and victimisation also failed on multiple counts.
It found Jacobs’ explanation for the “glamour” comments to be a “misplaced compliment, but that error was not due to the claimant’s race”.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
HR opportunities in the public sector on Personnel Today
Browse more HR opportunities in the public sector
