‘Infatuated’ sex pest boss told to pay victim £35k
A COMPANY boss who made lewd comments to a female manager has been ordered to pay her £35,000 in compensation.
Mark Harris subjected Lorraine Shotton to months of “unwanted sexual conduct” after he was unable to shake off his “sexual infatuation”, an employment tribunal found.
Ms Shotton, who started as a secretary and worked her way up to be general manager of Somerset-based upholstery business The Foam Shop, was awarded the payout despite initially “flirting” with her boss.
Judge Matthews made the finding having heard how at an office party, after proclaiming that she used to be “a cage dancer in
Ibiza” and was “not wearing any knickers”, she began to dance and “was pushing herself into Mr Harris in a provocative manner”.
But as time went on she “changed her mind”. In November 2016 Ms Shotton made it clear to Harris that his attention was unwelcome after an incident during which – when offered a bacon bap – he replied, “No, I want you” and lunged at her.
At the end of a meeting a year later, he cuddled her and asked: “Can I HarveyWeinstein your a***?”
She later wrote to him: “I felt I had no choice. I left the two-hour meeting once again feeling violated.”
Ms Shotton lodged a grievance at work but it was rejected. After being accused of gross misconduct, she quit her job in April 2018.
Judge Matthews found that Harris “could not overcome his infatuation with Ms Shotton, could not change his behaviours in any significant way and took his frustrations out on Ms Shotton in the workplace”.
He and his company have now been ordered to pay £25,000 plus £2,728.77 in interest.
Mark Harris Upholstery Ltd must also pay £7,220 over Ms Shotton’s unfair and wrongful dismissal, taking the total payout to around £35,000.
Harris, 59, started Mark Harris Upholstery, now The Foam Shop in Taunton, in 1986. He turned it into a thriving business, appearing in many of its promotional videos, including one in which he is featured lying on a bed with a scantily clad model.
Ms Shotton, a former police officer, joined in 2013 as a clerical assistant, but rose to become general manager just 18 months later.
She was “not above flirting” with her boss, the judge said, and she told the tribunal that Harris at first “was charming, funny, complimentary and we became friends”.
But the boss “gradually introduced” unwanted touching. After making it clear this must stop, he became “sulky” and “intimidatory”.
Judge Matthews in his ruling said: “The meeting on 18 November 2016 saw Ms Shotton drawing a clear line.
“From then on, Ms Shotton did not want any physical contact with Mr Harris. She wanted to be left alone in that respect and allowed to get on with her job.”
When offered a bacon bap he said ‘No, I want you’ and lunged at her