Law Humor

An employment tribunal in England has ruled that a woman's co-workers discriminated against her by using "laddish" behavior to maker her work life miserable, and that senior managers did not intervene.  Indeed, one of the managers seems to have been the main contributor to the problem via his habit of continually breaking wind in her direction.

Theresa Bailey was the only woman employed by Selectabase, a direct-marketing firm in Kent, and she lasted only two months before, she said, the wind-breaking and other misconduct forced her to resign.  The tribunal found that "sexist banter" was commonplace in the office, and that when Bailey complained she would be hit in the head with a beach ball.  She was not properly paid for time off when she needed to go to the dentist.  When she had trouble with her computer, she was allegedly forced to wear a badge reading "I'm simple."  Complaints about the restrooms resulted in the comment "that's why we don't hire women."  And then there was the repeated breaking of wind.

"The number of times the person at my side would lift up his bottom off the chair and fart and think it's funny is unreal," Bailey said in an email to the company director, Steve Selwood.  "I am no prude but I do think there is a time and a place for that behavior."  There is?

The tribunal sided with Bailey and awarded her roughly $6000 in compensation.  Company spokesman would not return calls by the Daily Mail for comment, so reporters got on the website and noted that Selwood described the lads at his company as "nice nice, not sugary nice," whatever that means.  Selwood also listed his hobbies as "snooker" and "swimming in the Black Sea," which I don't think qualifies as a hobby.

Link: Daily Mail