Restaurant ordered to pay £18,000 to former staff member for unlawful victimisation

A restaurant worker has been awarded over £18,000 by a tribunal after being dismissed by a Manchester venue for reporting sexual harassment.

The staff member, who was 16 years old at the time of the incident, was working behind the counter at the New York Diner to serve customers.

She had joined the restaurant while studying for her A-Levels.

After starting at the restaurant, she told a former colleague that a 35-year-old male chef had sexually harassed and sexually assaulted her.

She said: “He said we should have sex in the middle of the water fountain so everyone can take a video of it.

“When I’m squatting down to put trays away or get something from the shelves he goes, ‘yeah like this position’, and he started making the thrusting motion towards my head. When I went into the office to get burger sauce, he goes, ‘quick get in’ and tries to pull my pants down.”

Later the same month, the worker informed her female manager about the chef’s behaviour, and the manager said she was “not aware” of the situation.

A tribunal heard from the restaurant that a declaration had been signed by the worker who made the claim, confirming that “no sexual harassment took place at New York Diner”.

But she said she had never signed the document and the signature must have been fabricated, which was agreed by the court.

The case also concerned a dispute of fact as to when her employment ended.

The tribunal concluded it was most likely the worker was dismissed when she claimed, as this was three days before her mother telephoned the manager to report that her daughter had been sexually assaulted.

It stated: “Up to that point, both times that the claimant had mentioned being sexually harassed, the respondents had been able to brush it aside… Once the claimant’s mother had become involved, it must have been clear to the respondents that the claimant was not going to let them forget about the harassment.”

The hearing was held on 27 September and 28 September 2023 at an employment tribunal in Manchester.

The restaurant was ordered to pay the worker £18,696.14 for unlawful victimisation.