Not invited to work drinks? You could be a target of victimisation

FAILING to invite a colleague to work drinks is victimisation, a tribunal has ruled, as a casino worker was awarded more than £74,000 in compensation.

Rita Leher, 51, claimed she felt “shunned” by colleagues at Aspers casino in Stratford, east London, and was the only one not invited to cocktail bar Las Iguanas for drinks. Fellow cashiers also “insensitively” discussed the social event in front of her, the tribunal heard.

Ms Leher, who began working at the casino in November 2011 and has since left the firm, was awarded £74,113 in compensation after a tribunal judge ruled that deliberately excluding a colleague from work drinks amounts to victimisation.

The former cashier, who is of mixed black African heritage, also won claims of unfair dismissal and race and age discrimination.

The tribunal heard she had seen many cash desk colleagues promoted over the years, none of whom were black or mixed heritage and all of whom were younger than her. She had been repeatedly rejected or ignored after applying for higher positions within the company, the tribunal heard.

Her exclusion from the drinks event was because colleagues “did not wish to socialise with someone who had complained of discrimination”, the tribunal panel concluded.

Employment judge Sarah Moor said: “Being excluded from discussions at work about a social occasion among colleagues when one would normally be included would subject an employee to a detriment at work.

“A reasonable employee would consider that such exclusion was to their disadvantage because they had lost the opportunity to bond with colleagues on that social occasion.

“We unanimously agree that this was because Ms Leher had complained about victimisation.”