An employment tribunal has awarded two ex-Allied Pharmacies workers almost £38k in a harassment case against their former employer.
The union Unison said last week that the two workers won a total of £37,984 after bringing the claims against Sharief Healthcare Limited, a subsidiary of the Sharief Group, which owns the Allied Pharmacies chain.
The tribunal found that Lisa Bennett and Ms L Moilanen’s complaint of harassment related to sexual orientation was “well-founded” and succeeded, as well as Bennett’s complaint of unfair dismissal.
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Bennett said that losing her job after 30 years was “devastating” and that having private details about her sexuality “used in workplace complaints made it even worse”.
She was “glad” the tribunal recognised the harassment and said “no one should have to worry that their sexual orientation will be used against them at work”.
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According to the tribunal judgment, published on August 28, the pair’s complaint of “direct sexual discrimination brought in the alternative to the complaint of harassment and relying on the same acts” was dismissed.
Unison confirmed to C+D that Bennett and Moilanen had worked at Allied Pharmacy Ebbw Vale in Gwent, Wales.
C+D has approached Sharief Healthcare Limited for comment.
“Slam dunk case”
The tribunal took place in Cardiff from August 4 to 7, and Unison said the judge found “serious flaws in the investigation that led to Lisa’s dismissal”, as well as a “failure to properly investigate the women’s concerns”.
The full reasons for the decisions were given orally at the hearing and not published in the judgment document.
Thompsons Solicitors senior lawyer Jazmeer Jackson said “we don’t often get ‘slam dunk’ cases, particularly in discrimination claims”, but the evidence in this case “told a compelling story”.
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“The members stood up for their rights, and we were proud to stand alongside them,” she said.
Unison Cymru regional organiser Lynne Hackett said employers “must take concerns about homophobia seriously and investigate them properly”.
She added that the tribunal outcome “shows why workers need strong protection against discrimination and harassment”.
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“Everyone has the right to be treated with dignity at work.”
It comes after a pharmacist was awarded €50,000 in compensation after being dismissed around five weeks after telling her employer she was pregnant.
And it follows a Morrisons pharmacist winning a disability claim against the supermarket chain after a judge heard that she did not take a toilet break during her shifts because she was “told not to use the customer disabled toilet”.
