Don’t be so sensitive!
Lawyer loses claim over boss’s ‘childless’ comments Judge says it was ‘clumsy’ – and warns over culture of taking offence too easily
A high-flying lawyer overreacted when told she should accept a job abroad because she did not have children or a boyfriend, a tribunal ruled.
Nirosha Sithirapathy should not have been so sensitive to her boss’s comments, a female judge said.
Rejecting claims of harassment and discrimination, employment judge Emma Jane hawksworth criticised a culture of ‘hypersensitivity’ at work where every ‘unfortunate and awkward phrase’ can end in legal action. Tribunals should bear in mind the importance of not encouraging such a culture, she added.
She dismissed 42 claims filed by Miss Sithirapathy, saying the boss had insisted he would have made similar comments to a male worker. One of his remarks to her was that the overseas office was tolerant of lesbians.
Miss Sithirapathy – who, social media posts show, has a husband – joined PSi CRO UK in Kidlington, near Oxford, in 2014, aged 25.
in November 2016, her boss Martin Schmidt offered her a job with the science and engineering firm’s Swiss parent company on nearly £100,000 a year.
She replied that she was not interested in the move for personal reasons, the employment tribunal at Reading heard.
Mr Schmidt responded in what Judge hawksworth said were ‘very blunt’ and ‘clumsily put’ remarks, saying: ‘You are not married, you don’t have children and you do not have a boyfriend.’
he also spoke of the Swiss office’s ‘tolerance’ of lesbian staff. Miss Sithirapathy was shocked and uncomfortable. The following year, the School of Oriental and African Studies graduate was denied a promotion as she was at the beginning of her career, young and ‘needed to be patient with herself’, the tribunal heard.
She complained about this, as well as Mr Schmidt’s earlier comments. however, after a change of heart she accepted the relocation to become manager of the real estate portfolio at the Swiss head office in Zug.
When she lost that job after a month because of reorganisation, Miss Sithirapathy tried to return to her old position only to be told it had been filled.
She claimed she had been forced out but the tribunal ruled her employment had ended by mutual agreement. She then filed a total of 42 claims alleging discrimination, sexual harassment, harassment relating to age or sexual orientation and victimisation.
Dismissing Miss Sithirapathy’s claims, Judge hawksworth said: ‘The comments were unfortunate and awkward.
‘however, we bear in mind the importance of not encouraging a culture of hypersensitivity or of imposing legal liability to every unfortunate phrase.
‘We have concluded that, in this case, taking into account the context of the discussion, these comments did not cross the line such that they amounted to unlawful harassment.
‘Miss Sithirapathy was shocked and the discussion made her uncomfortable, as she did not know how Mr Schmidt knew personal information about her.
‘however, Mr Schmidt said – and we accept – that he would have
‘Unfortunate and awkward phrase’
‘Taking context into account’
made the same comments to a male employee.
Mr Schmidt was not commenting on Miss Sithirapathy’s relationship status or sexual orientation, he was seeking to convey his understanding about the claimant’s family commitments in the UK.
‘Mr Schmidt in particular spoke very bluntly to the claimant. Some of the comments made were very unfortunate and clumsy. however, we have concluded that they did not cross the line.’
Miss Sithirapathy, who is now based in Boston, Massachusetts, according to an online profile, was contacted for comment.