A waitress sexually harassed and dismissed after only a month has been awarded £43,000 by an employment tribunal, which heard how her boss told her she had “the prettiest eyes he had ever seen”.
Ms Almussawi told the tribunal that Wejdi Moussa’s comment was “creepy” but that she needed the job at the Mailcoach restaurant in Uddingston, Glasgow.
She received the national minimum wage, £10.18 per hour for 21 to 22-year-olds at the time, and was paid cash in hand. There was no employment contract. Almussawi was not put on the rota with other employees but would be messaged or phoned by Moussa when needed, sometimes at short notice.
On her first shift in July 2023, Moussa took Almussawi into his office and proceeded to adjust her tie and collar, although she had felt there was nothing wrong with her uniform.
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He also insisted on putting the radio used by staff on the claimant. She said twice that she could do this herself but the respondent said that he had to do it, requiring her to unbutton her top.
Moussa put the radio in her back pocket which led to him touching her backside – he apologised.
Almussawi also became concerned about Moussa’s behaviour in other respects. He would ask if she wanted a lift home at the end of each shift and did not ask other employees the same.
He twice gave her £20 in addition to her wages, saying this was for doing “a good job” but that it was a secret and she should not tell anyone.
On every shift, he would adjust her apron or collar, something he did not do with other employees. He continued this despite Almussawi saying she could do it herself. The tribunal also heard that Moussa would wink at her every time she walked past him.
Previous behaviour
The claimant spoke to other front-of-house staff, also women, about his behaviour. They said that they had not experienced anything similar but that Moussa, who did not respond to the tribunal claims or give evidence, had behaved in the same way with a former female employee.
During her second week, Moussa asked Almussawi into his office and told her he had heard everything she had said about his behaviour through the security system and that she should be “careful”.
She felt worried about his behaviour towards her and told the tribunal she was scared of people when going home from work and would not let anyone touch her, including her boyfriend.
Over her four weeks’ employment, she had worked 55, 60, 40 and 18 hours respectively. During her fourth week, she did fewer hours because she was sitting exams. It had been prearranged that these would be non-working days, but after Moussa heard her talking about him, he asked her to fill in a holiday form.
After her exams, Almussawi contacted him to say she was available for shifts but received no response. She continued to phone and message him for two weeks, without reply. Moussa then blocked her number.
‘Clearly unwanted’
The tribunal found Moussa’s conduct was “clearly unwanted” by the claimant – she did nothing to encourage it and actively discouraged it, but he persisted.
Employment Judge Peter O’Donnell considered that any reasonable employee would consider that the environment in which they were having to work was “intimidating or humiliating or that their dignity was being violated”. The tribunal also accepted that the conduct was either related to the claimant’s sex or was of a sexual nature.
“Although the respondent did not make explicit sexual comments or make reference to the claimant’s sex, the tribunal considers that it can draw the necessary inference from the facts of the case,” said the judgment. “In the absence of any explanation for this behaviour, it can draw an adverse inference that the behaviour was related to the fact that the claimant was a woman and/or it was conduct of a sexual nature.”
The judgment also said that without any explanation for the claimant’s dismissal, the tribunal also inferred that she was dismissed because she was rejecting the respondent’s harassment.
Almussawi was awarded £10,800 for injury to feelings, £28,000 for financial loss, £2,800 for loss of wages, £260 for untaken holiday and £1,050 for Moussa’s failure to comply with the Employment Rights Act. The total award was £42,850.
A separate claim for unfair dismissal was dismissed because the claimant had less than two years’ service.
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