Woman wins £386,000 for abuse over five weeks’ work

A WOMAN has won a payout of almost £400,000 from the Department for Work and Pensions after she was racially abused during five weeks of employment.

Anne Giwa-amu, 59, suffered a “hostile environment” where staff used racist language such as “Paki-lover” in her presence, a tribunal ruled yesterday.

Ms Giwa-amu, who is of Nigerian descent, joined the government department as an admin officer at its branch in Caerphilly in February 2017, but signed off with sickness five weeks later suffering from stress and anxiety.

The former solicitor and oil company director claimed she was a victim of race and age discrimination after she was dismissed later that year for being unable to return to work.

She was yesterday awarded £386,060 from the public purse at an employment tribunal in Cardiff. Her compensation included £169,724 for loss of future earnings and £42,809 for injury to feelings, one of the highest ever awards of its kind for harassment.

The tribunal heard she lodged a formal bullying complaint after colleagues repeatedly accused her of stealing ice cream and sprayed bodyspray on themselves while sitting next to her. One DWP official also boasted loudly he had “touched Anne’s bum” in front of employees, the tribunal heard.

In the hearing, judge Laura Howdenevans ruled that fellow new recruits Daisy Cartwright and Robert Lewis acted “in an insulting way deliberately intended to humiliate Ms Giwa-amu and create a hostile environment for her”. Ms Giwa-amu, of Caerphilly, was the only non-white recruit of nine new trainees and the only one aged over 50, the tribunal heard. Speaking afterwards, she said: “The last three years have been a nightmare. But the employees who were openly hostile towards me because of my colour and age have not been penalised. They have got away scot-free and in some cases have even been promoted.”

In a statement, the DWP said: “Racism is totally unacceptable and action will be taken against any staff found to be expressing such views. We take the judgment and the circumstances of this case very seriously.”