Café worker awarded $9,000 after sexual harassment

A café worker has been awarded $9,000 compensation after experiencing sexual harassment at the hands of her boss.

The man bought her gifts and even tried to kiss her, and then sacked her when she rejected his advances.

Employment law experts say the amount of compensation is manifestly inadequate.

Café worker experiences sexual harassment

The woman worked at the café for just two weeks when her boss bought her an expensive watch as a birthday present.

The gift made her feel uncomfortable. She felt it was inappropriate considering that she hardly knew him.

She said the man then went on to make a number of advances. For example, repeatedly asking her out for drinks and touching her bottom.

The worker described a disturbing incident when she and her boss were in a car picking up supplies.

She said the man suddenly grabbed her arm and forcibly tried to kiss her.

The worker said her boss tried to forcibly kiss her in a car.

Adverse action

Following these incidents, the woman’s boss cut her rostered hours in favour of younger staff. He eventually sacked her.

The woman filed a complaint with the New South Wales Anti-Discrimination Board alleging sexual harassment and age discrimination.

During conciliation, the employer denied any inappropriate behaviour. However, he did admit buying the woman the watch for her birthday. He also conceded he occasionally flirted with her.

Regarding the dismissal, the man denied he fired the worker because of her age. Instead, he cited a list of other alleged issues. For example, her abrupt communication style, treating kitchen staff badly, and sending unprofessional emails and messages to colleagues.

The employer eventually agreed to settle the matter by paying the woman $9,000 compensation.

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Compensation ‘manifestly inadequate’

Industrial advocate Miles Heffernan described the amount of compensation as “manifestly inadequate”.

“This woman suffered appalling sexual harassment and possibly even a criminal sexual assault,” he said.

“Furthermore, her boss took adverse action against her when she refused his advances.

“Cases like this are now attracting compensation payouts in the hundreds of thousands of dollars.

“Courts have made it clear that this sort of conduct in the workplace is completely unacceptable. Accordingly, in addition to compensation, they are also imposing huge penalties on perpetrators”.

Mr Hefferan advised anyone who has experienced sexual harassment or any form of discrimination to seek urgent expert advice from an employment law specialist.

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