A woman has won a £20,000 pay out from an employment tribunal after her boss accused her of being “menopausal”.
Leigh Best had a disagreement with her then-boss David Fletcher when she was working at Embark on Raw, a pet food business, in March 2020.
While Best was talking with a customer, Fletcher reportedly shouted “at the top of his voice” that 52-year-old Best “must be in her menopause”.
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Mrs Best, who now owns her own raw dog and cat food business Rawkings Premium, took her employers to the tribunal and will now receive the payout after winning claims of age and sex discrimination and unfair dismissal.
The panel found Mr Fletcher had broached a 'highly sensitive topic' and acted 'tactlessly' when he asked her about the menopause.
The row boiled over when Best said she had a “small” argument over an order mix up with Fletcher, which led to him shouting about her being menopausal from a back room, the tribunal was told.
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"(He) made inappropriate and derogatory comments about her age and remarks, relevant to her sex as a woman, relating to his perception or ‘guess’ that she might be menopausal or be experiencing stereotypical menopausal symptoms," the tribunal panel heard.
The tribunal found he did this "even after...she had made it quite clear that she did not wish to participate in any such discussion.
"A customer had been describing a ‘hot flush’, (Mrs Best) put her hands over her ears and said ‘I am having none of that, I don’t even want to hear about it…I don’t want to know."
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"Mr Fletcher continued to pursue the topic even after the customer had departed and that was unwanted conduct which had the effect of violating (her) dignity and of creating a humiliating environment for her at work."
When Best complained about Fletcher’s comments and behaviour to his wife, Andrea, she was told to “stop moaning.”
Best was told: “It shouldn’t happen like this. You’ve got to stop moaning and you’ve got to talk to people with respect…you’ve got to stop trying to blame people…you’re very quick to tell people when they’re doing something wrong… you’ve got to get on with everybody or we’ll have to call it a day.”
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The tribunal ruled she had been sacked for raising her covid concerns and then victimised for complaining about Fletcher's behaviour towards her.
The tribunal, headed by Employment Judge Bernice Elgot, said: "Mr Fletcher invaded the Claimant’s privacy, broached a highly sensitive topic for her and acted tactlessly in directly asking her, as an employee having the protected characteristic of sex as a woman, whether she was menopausal.
"He asked that question even after... she had made it quite clear she did not wish to participate in any such discussion.
"We are satisfied that part of the reason for the company’s decision to dismiss Mrs Best is that she made a significant allegation of sexism and ageism against Mr David Fletcher."
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Of her covid concerns, the panel said she had made disclosures of ‘information’ which were also in the ‘public interest’.
"She was intervening to protect herself, her family, her close friends and contacts, the customers and suppliers of [the Fletcher’s] business and the wider public," the tribunal said.
Best will receive £20,057.74 in compensation.
Kimberley Bond