Employee Not Invited To After-Work Drinks Awarded $93,000 By Court For Being 'Victimized'

KEY POINTS

A former casino worker, 51, was excluded from a cocktail bar event organized by her colleagues in late 2018
The woman, who was of mixed Black African heritage, had been victimized, harassed and bullied prior to the incident
A tribunal awarded her $93,000 after it was ruled that her exclusion from the work night out amounted to victimization

An East London employment tribunal awarded a 51-year-old woman of mixed Black African heritage around $93,000 after it ruled that co-workers excluding her from a get-together was "victimization."

Rita Leher was the only one among her colleagues at Aspers Casino in Stratford, London, who was not invited to go to a cocktail bar in Las Iguanas for drinks in December 2018, the Daily Mail reported.

Leher's fellow cashiers also "insensitively" organized the social event in front of her, the tribunal heard.

Prior to the incident, she reportedly complained of several grievances at her workplace.

Leher raised one in 2018 concerning a breach of Equality and Diversity policy after her boss failed to reply to a request for training while a white colleague had a request for the same training granted at the same time.

She raised another grievance in October of the same year that alleged she had been victimized, harassed and bullied since she raised her first grievance.

Leher was "shunned" and "ignored" by colleagues at the casino's cash desk in what she described as an "uncomfortable atmosphere," she said.

She launched tribunal claims in February 2019 and resigned in April that year.

A judge has now ruled that Leher's deliberate exclusion from the cocktail bar event amounted to victimization.

"We unanimously agree that being excluded from discussions at work about a social occasion amongst colleagues when one would normally be included would subject an employee to a detriment at work," Employment Judge Sarah Moor said in her ruling.

Leher's exclusion was a "disadvantage" for her as she "had lost the opportunity to bond with colleagues on that social occasion," the magistrate explained.

"The occasion was sufficiently linked to work by the fact that it was amongst work colleagues and was discussed about at work and would provide the opportunity for team bonding. We unanimously agree that this was because Ms. Leher had complained about victimization," Moor explained.

The tribunal awarded Leher £74,113.65 ($93,320) in compensation for injury to feelings and loss of overtime for her successful claims of unlawful victimization, unfair dismissal as well as race and age discrimination.

Other similar claims of victimization, harassment and race and age discrimination failed.