Staff ‘told to wear revealing clothes’ for Sir Philip’s visits
Pressure mounts as former employees reveal how sexual harassment by store bosses went unpunished
SIR PHILIP GREEN’S retail empire faced further allegations of inappropriate behaviour last night, after staff alleged that they were told to wear “revealing” clothes when the billionaire visited them at work.
Former employees said that they were told by managers to wear “skimpy” outfits when Sir Philip inspected shops in America and claimed that the “culture” within the company meant that managers were not reprimanded when complaints were made about sexual harassment.
The billionaire was also alleged to have made offensive remarks about employees he believed were gay, including calling people “dykes” and “faggots”.
The revelations are likely to increase pressure on Sir Philip and Arcadia, his retail company.
Last week, The Daily Telegraph revealed how five former employees each signed so-called “gagging clauses” after making allegations about Sir Philip’s behaviour.
After fighting a six-month legal case against the billionaire, this newspaper was able to reveal how a female executive was paid more than £1million after she accused the retail tycoon of groping her.
A black executive was paid a similar amount after Sir Philip allegedly racially abused him, including saying that his “problem” was that he was still “throwing spears in the jungle”.
The other two women both accused Sir Philip of sexual harassment, with one saying she was “groped” and held in a “headlock”.
The fifth individual – a male executive – had complained about aggressive and intimidating behaviour after Sir Philip allegedly smashed his mobile phone after reprimanding him for not keeping him sufficiently informed.
Sir Philip has denied any “unlawful” conduct and has previously described his behaviour as “banter”.
Since The Telegraph first revealed how Sir Philip was the businessman at the centre of the sexual harassment and racial abuse scandal last year, reporters have spoken to dozens of people who have come forward to make allegations, including employees and former employees based in the US.
Topshop launched in New York with much fanfare in 2009, with queues of customers stretching around the block
‘That place kind of scarred me, I don’t feel safe around older guys any more. That environment was very toxic’
hoping to grab a piece of British fashion. Five years later, its flagship store on Fifth Avenue opened with celebrity guests attending including Beyoncé, Cara Delevingne and Naomi Campbell.
Employees who worked at the US stores alleged that Sir Philip behaved in a “sleazy” manner when he visited. Three people – who asked not to be named – said they had witnessed him refer to female colleagues as “bad girls”, which made them feel uncomfortable.
Five former employees claimed that staff were told by managers to wear “skimpy” clothes when he visited the shops where they worked, with one former personal shopper alleging that her team was told to wear miniskirts. More than 10 former Topshop employees who worked in the two New York stores between 2012 and 2017 alleged there was a culture in the company where sexual misconduct was common, with managers being sexually inappropriate with junior staff.
All the people who The Telegraph spoke to wanted to remain anonymous because they still work in the fashion industry and did not want to damage their career prospects.
Some employees who said they had reported sexual misconduct by their managers claimed either no action was taken by the company, or the managers in question were simply moved to different areas of the stores. A former employee at the Soho store in New York alleged that he was sexually harassed while working for the firm. “There were several managers who rubbed their hands down my back and touched my butt,” he said.
“That place kind of scarred me, I don’t feel safe around older guys any more. That environment was very toxic.”
A former Topman employee, who worked at the Fifth Avenue store and who wished to remain anonymous, said she believed that sexual harassment was a “wider issue” at the firm.
“When I was there, situations were not handled very well within the company – it’s one of the reasons why I left.” She said that she and colleagues had reported an alleged incident where a male employee “cornered” a woman in a stockroom and “tried to kiss her”.
The woman said the incident was reported, but even though he was eventually asked to leave the shop, she later learnt that he had previously worked at another Topshop location and “apparently behaved in a similar way there” before being moved to Fifth Avenue.
She said that in her experience “the biggest issue is that management doesn’t hold anyone accountable and they don’t follow procedures to make their staff feel safe”.
The former employee claimed that she and her colleagues were expected to “hug” one manager at the beginning of their shifts and “uncomfortable” comments about their physical appearance were common.
Former employees have also alleged that Sir Philip used homophobic language to describe staff who he believed to be gay. Several claimed that they heard the billionaire publicly describe colleagues as “dykes” or “faggots”, as well as other derogatory remarks.
Former employees in Britain have also described how Sir Philip bullied employees.
Felicity Wade, a former BHS womenswear design manager, said that when she worked with the business-
man, he had “daily temper tantrums”. “He was a bully”, she said. “I remember he went up to a junior buyer and said to her: ‘Don’t worry, we’ll have you running up the stairs to lose weight.’ Everyone cringes but he’s walked off by then. We would say to each other ‘did that just happen?’.”
Jane Shepherdson, a former brand director at Topshop, previously said she felt she had to protect her team from Sir Philip, adding: “There is no question he was a bully. Everybody knows he was a bully. I felt it was my duty to protect the team from that... I just absolutely thought it was inappropriate in a workplace to bully people in that way.”