Spongebob Squarepants costs £142,000

Spongebob Squarepants was the nickname given to an office worker by her colleagues. She was awarded £142,000 compensation by the Employment Tribunal (ET). How did the employer end up paying so much?


From the beginning An AXA PPP Healthcare employee, Brazilian Licia Faithful was awarded £141,990 by an Employment Tribunal for the racial abuse and harassment she suffered over an 18 month period at the hands of colleagues. 


Mrs Faithful received the award after a campaign of harassment that saw her dubbed ‘SpongeBob Squarepants’ by colleagues because of her nasal voice.

Staff ridiculed her accent, even taping her voice and playing it back to her while mimicking the way she spoke and laughing. The 31-year-old had Brazilian flags pinched off her desk and was ordered not to wear her national top. They also asked her if she was on drugs because she came from South America.

Mum-of-one Mrs Faithful, who worked in the AXA claims department at Tunbridge Wells, Kent, was left with post¬traumatic stress and depression. She was unable to do basic household chores because of the effect the abuse had on her. On one office outing she attended a colleague stood up on a coach and spoke about “bloody foreigners”. 

However, it wasn't just co-workers orchestrating the abuse. Mrs Faithful also had to watch as British colleagues received rewards from bosses, including cash and vouchers, for achievements to which she had contributed but received nothing.

The Ashford tribunal ruled Mrs Faithful’s bosses and colleagues were responsible for “the most serious case of discrimination”.

“There was substantial evidence that these employees were engaged in bullying, which was contrary to the respondent's own bullying and harassment policy," ruled the judge.

The Tribunal awarded a total payout of just under £142,000 including damages for discrimination, injury to feelings, and personal injury.

Not taking the complaint seriously The real deciding point was that although AXA had a clear anti-bullying policy it failed to implement it when a formal complaint was made. 

The Tribunal found she endured a “hostile and degrading” environment in a company which had “lacked empathy” and put her through a “demeaning” grievance procedure after she complained about the abuse. “

Had AXA treated her seriously and disciplined the perpetrators, more than likely the claim would have failed.


Tip 

Prevention is Better Than Cure!

Does your firm:

• Have an up to date policy on bullying and harassment that is readily available for employees to read?
• Do you know that they have read and understood it?
• Have you made clear that behaviour of this kind will be dealt with via your disciplinary procedure and could ultimately result in dismissal?
• Have you actively provided training with clear examples of what can constitute bullying and harassment?

The last point – training – is vital. We don’t all react to behaviours in the same way – what feels like a bit of fun to me may be offensive and threatening to you. Managers and Supervisors should be very clear that they have a responsibility to ensure that all employees are protected from this kind of behaviour and they ignore it at their peril – you could find yourself being viewed as condoning the behaviour by a Tribunal if you do nothing to correct it.