Woman gets £379k payout after DWP harassment
AWOMAN has been awarded nearly £400,000 by the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) after being the target of racist discrimination.
Anne Giwa-Amu was the victim of racist and ageist harassment and discrimination when she worked for the DWP branch in Caerphilly in 2017.
Employment Judge Laura Howden-Evans ordered that the department pay Miss Giwa-Amu a total of £379,059 as remedy after an employment tribunal found Ms Giwa-Amu’s claims to be true.
Ms Giwa-Amu, who is of Nigerian-Welsh origin, joined the DWP as the only non-white trainee out of nine others in February 2017 when she was 55.
Five weeks later, Ms Giwa-Amu submitted a formal complaint of bullying and racial harassment, and started sick leave for stress at work on the same day.
She claimed that during her five weeks of employment she was subjected to humiliating and bullying behaviour.
Judge Howden-Evans found that a DWP employee caused Ms Giwa-Amu to feel embarrassed and humiliated when they loudly told the group of nine trainees “I touched her bum.”
Another employee had violated Ms Giwa-Amu by using racist language such as “Paki-lover” in her presence.
The same employee had also repeatedly accused Ms Giwa-Amu of stealing ice-cream, sprayed body spray on themselves while near her and was spinning on a chair next to her, which she claimed was making her feel sick.
She was being left out of discussions for end-of-training celebrations, was clearly distressed, and was subjected to comments like “If she comes back” when she left the room.
Judge Howden-Evans said this was a “nasty dig” and “proved to be the final straw – it underlined the message ‘we don’t like you’”.
Miss Giwa-Amu’s confidence was also breached by DWP officials who discussed her complaint of bullying with other employees.
Miss Giwa-Amu left on sick leave in March 2017 and was unlawfully dismissed in October 2017 for being unable to return to work. During this time she had been living off just £55 a week and her final pay cheque was withheld.