‘Bully’ boss offered female worker ‘all sex you can handle’

Predator asked woman to rub cream on his back

A WOMAN who was told by her ‘rude and vulgar’ boss that he was offering her ‘all the sex you can handle’ has been awarded €17,450 in a sexual harassment case.

The Workplace Relations Commission heard that the boss, who works in the catering industry, also asked her to rub antiseptic cream on his groin area, and texted her at night saying: ‘You can go back to having inappropriate dreams of me.’

The individual parties and the name of the associated restaurant were not identified in the hearing, which revealed a series of text message exchanges between both parties.

The woman initially worked at the company as a delivery person from July 2012, and returned as a stores person in July 2013, but resigned in September 2015 owing to alleged ‘intolerable working conditions’.

On one occasion she messaged her boss saying: ‘I’m done with you and working my €8.65 [per hour] worth and nothing more. There 1013 staff on €10 per hour and get their ass licked for doing f all. And I mean F all. Let them do the heavy work and have their nails broke. I’ve enough.’

Her boss responded to say: ‘You are on €9 per hour for the last year. Plus all your benefits, free food, all the sex you can handle. Praise when its due; dates with toy boys, girls to talk s[hit]. with. What more do you want.’

While the adjudicator noted the messages could indicate the communication was ‘a two-way street’, the boss’s position of power and status within the company should be noted, with the sexual inferences ‘showing him in a predatory light’.

The woman accepted there were no sexual undertones to his evening visits to her apartment, but insisted the texts, WhatsApp exchanges and application of the cream were ‘deeply offensive to her’.

Around November 2014, she was called to his office and asked to assist him in applying antibiotic cream to his back using gloves. She said she felt pressurised to do so and became upset afterwards.

She claimed he pointed to his groin area and asked if she would like to apply some there.

He denied there was anything sexual or inappropriate about his conduct.

The hearing was told he made repeated reference to her weight, physical appearance and the size of her breasts, including referring to her as a boy ‘because of her flat chest and thin stature’. A witness on her behalf gave ‘compelling and credible evidence’ of his remarks that she ‘had no t*ts anymore’.

On another occasion, her colleagues recalled her chopping vegetables, when he came out of his office ‘effing and blinding’ and asked if she had taken her medication that day. She said she had, as she was open about her mental health issues, but he said it was ‘not effing working’.

She said she felt compelled to resign due to alleged ‘ongoing intimidation and harassment’, as well as the fabrication of payslips, the denial of monies owed to her, and the attempt to bring her into conflict with the Department of Social Protection.

The booklet of text messages produced for the hearing included messages from other staff members stating that the boss was a bully.

The WRC upheld the complaint of sexual harassment and ordered her former employer to pay €17,450 compensation within 42 days. The boss did not attend the final hearing.

Asked if she had ‘taken her medication’