The tribunal says she was 'victimised' for being excluded
A cashier from a casino in the United Kingdom won £75,000 ($120,000) after she was excluded by her workmates from going for drinks. According to the cashier, she said she felt "shunned" by colleagues after not receiving an invitation to a cocktail bar, which her co-workers discussed amid her presence.
The employment tribunal sided in its ruling with the cashier, who is of mixed black African heritage, saying that her "colleagues victimised her by excluding her from a discussion about drinks."
"We unanimously agree that being excluded from discussions at work about a social occasion amongst colleagues when one would normally be included would subject an employee to a detriment at work," said the tribunal's decision, which was written by Employment Judge Sarah Moor.
"A reasonable employee would consider that such exclusion was to their disadvantage because they had lost the opportunity to bond with colleagues on that social occasion."
Prior to her exclusion, the cashier previously raised grievances against their employer for a breach on the company's Equality and Diversity policy - but this was dismissed.
In another grievance later on, she alleged that she had been victimised, harassed, and bullied since her first complaint. And upon returning to work, she said she was shunned and ignored by her colleagues.
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This included the instance where her colleagues talked about going to a Latin American restaurant for drinks without inviting her.
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According to the tribunal, the cashier was excluded from the social event because of her previous complaint of discrimination against their employer.
"We all conclude that this exclusion was because the Claimant had complained of discrimination. While working relationships were relatively amicable, the team did not wish to socialise with someone who had complained of discrimination," said Moor in the ruling.
"This was a way to make their displeasure over the complaint felt."
In addition to this, the cashier also won claims of unfair dismissal, as well as race and age discrimination.