Crude Austin Powers ‘joke’ lands boss with £20k harassment bill
A BOSS has been ordered to pay almost £20,000 after texting “I vanna humpalot” to a female employee – then claiming he was referencing an Austin Powers film character.
Ala Uddin was sued by Sasha Sasheva for sexual harassment after he propositioned her by text a month after she started working for him, a employment tribunal heard.
But Uddin said it was a “joke” and he was discussing Ivana Humpalot – a character from the 1999 comedy Austin Powers: The Spy Who Sh***ed Me. Played by Kristen Johnston, Ivana was a Russian hitwoman who ended up in bed with Austin, played by Mike Myers, in the spy spoof.
The tribunal was told that admin worker Miss Sasheva had also spotted Uddin “hanging around” her flat.
It heard that the boss sent text messages to Miss Sasheva in November 2020, saying “I vanna humpalot” and “Love... when are we going to f***?” The tribunal last year ordered Uddin, 50, and his tech company to pay her £17,607 in compensation.
Now, in a fresh ruling, he has been ordered to pay an extra £2,219 in legal costs, bringing the total to almost £20,000. The East London Employment Tribunal ruled that Uddin dragged out the legal process by “unreasonably” applying to have more time to present an argument.
There was “no good reason for much of the delay” and his defence had “no real prospect of success”, Employment Judge Sarah Moor said at the latest hearing.
Previously, the tribunal was told that Miss Sasheva started working as an administrator for Uddin’s software firm All Techmart in East London in 2020.
She was the sole employee and, while the two of them were in the office, Uddin stared at her “so much it made her feel uncomfortable”.
Scared
The tribunal heard that Uddin called Miss Sasheva “beautiful” and suggested they spend the night together at his friend’s home in Essex.
Miss Sasheva complained about “horrible” texts and told him: “Do not ever dare to talk to me like that.”
She told the tribunal that she “could not have felt more uncomfortable” and was so scared she began to work from home more often.
Miss Sasheva said she decided to resign because she was “upset and angry” at the harassment.