A woman who worked at a high-end whisky investment company has won a case for sex discrimination after being subject to sexist comments.
Nina Chung, who worked for Whisky 1901, has been awarded more than £50,000 in compensation after a series of events between August and November 2022, including her colleagues calling women “birds” and boasting about their sexual conquests.
One of her co-workers also asked if she planned to get pregnant, and on another occasion, she was locked out of the company’s office.
Sex discrimination
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She told the tribunal that she had been suspended for five months after raising misconduct allegations; that company CEO Aaron Sparkes had disciplined her without attending the disciplinary hearing; and that the company had imposed a 12-month written warning when six months had been recommended.
The tribunal ruled that these actions, along with her dismissal, amounted to victimisation.
Furthermore, it found that Whisky 1901 had unreasonably failed to comply with the ACAS code on disciplinary and grievance procedures, which meant it increased the award payable to Chung by 20%.
Not all of her claims succeeded, but Employment Judge Klimov agreed with the claimant that the instances of sexist language, asking if she planned to get pregnant and boasting about sexual conquests, amounted to harassment related to sex.
In a statement to the press after the tribunal, the company said they would appeal the decision.
“The appropriate grievance and disciplinary processes and procedures were followed in regard to this matter,” it said.
“This included seeking independent advice from a well-known HR consultancy firm. We actively encourage diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace and take matters of this nature very seriously.”
Chung was awarded £51,776 in compensation, including £21,226 in financial losses, £14,000 for injury to feelings, and more than £7,000 in uplift for failure to comply with the ACAS code.
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