ERA holds no sexual harassment after employee has bum “slapped” by employer…

An employee who worked in a garden centre has had her personal grievance claim for unjustified constructive dismissal rejected by the Employment Relations Authority.

The employee resigned after her employer “slapped” her bottom.  The employee claimed that throughout her employment she had been “touched”, “fondled” and “slapped” by the employer, who had also made inappropriate comments to her.

The ERA stated that the employee had an obligation to raise any issues concerning the employer’s behaviour with him, and that she failed to do so. The ERA also noted that the employee had failed to raise the alleged incidents of sexual harassment within 90 days.

The ERA held that the employee was not sexually harassed in her employment as she was found to be an unreliable witness who lacked evidence.  The ERA also found that the employee’s statements were not supported by other witnesses.

The ERA held that the slap, which led to the employee’s resignation, was done in the context of two friends sharing a joke rather than sexual harassment. The ERA found that the employee’s behaviour of having the employer hire her partner was also inconsistent with her general allegations of a hostile working environment.

The facts of this case are pretty unusual and it is not an indication that assaults or harassment will be treated lightly by the ERA in different circumstances.