Councilin£25k payout to sex discrimination case woman who was told to clean toilets
A WOMAN who claimed she suffered sex discrimination at the hands of a local council has received a £25,000 payout.
Sharon Douglas (53) left her job at Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council in May after alleging she had been discriminated against in the allocation of overtime and training facilities, and had been subjected to harassment.
She claimed she was told to clean the kitchen and the toilets, and was told the toilets “needed a woman’s touch”.
Mrs Douglas was awarded £25,000, without admission of liability, after bringing the case.
She said she was left hurt and upset by the initial incident and then by how her complaint was handled.
Mrs Douglas, from Limavady, had been the only female employed in the technical services section of the council’s environmental services department.
She was based in the Limavady depot as a yard/storeperson, but resigned in May.
She explained: “Other employees in the yard, all men, were allowed to put themselves forward for overtime on Saturdays and public holidays, but when I asked to be considered in the same way I was refused.
“The reasons given made no sense to me.
“I was told it was because I hadn’t been trained on some of the machines, but when I asked for training that was also refused.
‘I complained about my treatment and said I thought it was sex discrimination, but that was responded to with abusive language.
“At another time, I was asked to go to a different site, when inspectors were visiting, to clean the kitchen and the toilets, which was not my job.
“I was told that the toilets ‘needed a woman’s touch’.”
Mrs Douglas took a grievance which, after several meetings, was rejected.
In the course of this investiga- tion her colleagues were asked if they would be “okay” working alongside her in another amenity site, and it was reported that they would not be.
The reason given was a fear of the position a man might be in “if she accuses me of something up in that yard”.
“The whole thing affected me badly and I was off work with stress,” Mrs Douglas added.
“When I raised the issue di- rectly, and flagged up my concern that this was sex discrimination, the first response I got was rude and dismissive.
“Later, when I complained through the council’s grievance procedures, I was very dissatisfied with the length of the process and the way it was handled.
“I was hurt and upset by my initial treatment and the way my complaints were dealt with.”
Michael Wardlow, chief commissioner of the Equality Commission, said the case raised disturbing questions.
“This is a case in which a woman, in a minority of one in an otherwise male workforce, feels she was excluded from benefits and advantages which were available to her male colleagues, such as training and access to overtime,” he said.
“She was only asking to be given the same opportunities as the men working alongside her, but the responses she got worsened, rather than helped, her situation.
“Asking her colleagues whether they would be ‘okay’ working alongside her was unlikely to have been asked about a male employee.
“And, of course, saying that cleaning the toilets ‘needed a woman’s touch’ was a direct and inappropriate reference to her gender.”
In settling the case without admission of liability, the council has agreed to meet with the commission and review its policies, practices and procedures to ensure that they comply in all respects with its obligations.
Mr Wardlow added: “Employers must make sure, not only that they have such policies in place, but all their staff are fully aware of the importance the employer places on implementing them.”
The Causeway Coast and Glens Borough Council said: “Following this case, the council has met with the Equality Commission and has affirmed its commitment to the principle of equality of opportunity and to ensuring that our policies, practices and procedures conform in all respects with equality legislation.
“The council is committed to promoting equality of opportunity for all employees and further embedding these principles within the organisation through an ongoing programme of training and development.
“The council will continue to liaise with the Equality Commission to ensure best practice is adhered to.”