Woman Settles For £45k In Sexual Harassment Case

A woman will receive a £45,000 settlement from her former employer, Tesco, following claims of sexual harassment and victimisation.

Lara Storey, a former part-time Dotcom Personal Shopper, claimed a colleague had subjected her to the sexual harassment which included physical touching.

"I wish none of this had ever happened," said Ms Storey.

"I was a student working my way through university. I didn’t ask for any of this. I had to challenge it and I’m glad I did.

"I want other women to know that they don’t have to accept this type of behaviour or treatment, and they should expect to be treated fairly by their employer."

Due to her experience, Lara raised a grievance with Tesco which was upheld, however, the colleague she had complained about remained in post, even though assurances were given that the person in question would be retrained or relocated to another department or store.

Lara believed this decision was in breach of her employer's equal opportunities policy and disciplinary code of conduct and that it failed to provide her with a safe and secure working environment.

Lara still felt nothing had changed following the investigations of her formal grievances, so she lodged a complaint at the Office of the Industrial Tribunal. Following this, she felt that she was then victimised and treated unfairly by more senior staff. This included being ignored and constantly criticised for very minor work issues. Lara eventually resigned from her job with Tesco due to her experience.

Geraldine McGahey, Chief Commissioner, Equality Commission for Northern Ireland said: "Our sex discrimination laws are almost 50 years old, and unfortunately, they are needed as much today as they did when they were first introduced.

"Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity and respect at work. Employers must ensure that, where their employees fail to live up to that standard, action is taken to deal with it effectively and that employees are dealt with or supported appropriately.

"It is imperative therefore that employers have policies and procedures in place to manage these situations effectively and that their managers are trained to use them."

In settling the cases, Tesco reaffirmed its commitment to equality of opportunity and regrets how the events that led to these claims made Lara feel and will improve processes going forward.

Tesco has also agreed to liaise with the Equality Commission to review its policies, practices and procedures on harassment.

The case was settled without admission of liability and Lara was supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland.