£10,000 settlement over 'obscene' e-mails

A woman who discovered nine of her colleagues had circulated obscene e-mails about her has received £10,000 compensation after settling her sexual harassment case against her former employer, Holden Meehan Independent Financial Advisers.

Her case was supported by the Equal Opportunities Commission (EOC).

The Sales Support Administrator and Personal Assistant discovered the e-mails inadvertently after she was given access to a colleague's e-mail folders while he was on extended leave. She made a formal complaint, which she felt was not treated seriously. Eventually she felt she had no choice other than to resign.

The woman said: "I was really shocked and upset when I came across a series of unpleasant e-mails about me. When my complaint didn't seem to be taken seriously I lost confidence in my employer and felt I couldn't carry on working for Holden Meehan."

She claimed she was ostracised by her colleagues after she made the complaint. When she informed the office manager that she was being victimised she was told to "imagine how the others feel, some of them are losing their jobs".

Julie Mellor, Chair of the Equal Opportunities Commission which supported the case, said: "Various high-profile media stories in recent years should not have left any room for doubt about the dangers of people misusing e-mail at work. All employers should make their staff aware that sexual harassment can take many forms and can be deeply distressing for the person on the receiving end. The fact that comments are made by e-mail doesn't mean they should be treated any less seriously than if they were spoken or written down. This needs to be made clear in harassment and IT policies."

Holden Meehan Independent Financial Advisers has since been taken over by the Bradford and Bingley.

(gmcg)