Waitress awarded £60,000 over breast-groping

Britexpat: Seems a lot of money and it seems she dd contribute to the situation.........What say you ???

A waitress has been awarded nearly £60,000 in compensation after taking her drunken boss to a employment tribunal for groping her breasts.

Jane Price, 35, said her life was destroyed by the bullying and sexual harassment she suffered while working at the Steak and Omelette bar in Plymouth, Devon.

The tribunal heard that former manager Peter Tunney asked to inspect her breasts after she had a surgical enhancement, sexually harassed her and accused her of sleeping with owner Alex Psaras.

She told the tribunal that she complained to Mr Psaras but instead of remonstrating with Mr Tunney, his brother-in-law, he sacked her by text two days later.
The message read: "I think it is best you don't come back to work. I did not like the way you conducted the situation. It left a bad feeling and it won't be long before you do it again."

Mrs Price told the Exeter tribunal: "To get a text of this nature made me feel worthless, unimportant and like I didn't matter.

"It is bad enough to be sacked but this was devastating."

The married mother-of one successfully claimed unfair dismissal, sexual discrimination and harassment.
She also claimed sexual discrimination against married father Mr Tunney, 43, who has since been sacked by the restaurant and did not attend the tribunal.
Tribunal judge Jenny Mulvaney ruled in favour of Mrs Price, but said she had participated in the "culture of banter and flirtation" amongst the predominantly young staff and management.

"The interaction ranged from mildly flirtatious to overtly sexual interaction and included bottom pinching and sexual innuendo," she said.

"It was not denied by the claimant that after her shift ended, she exposed her breasts to fellow employees."
Mrs Price admitted she had agreed to show colleagues the scars left by her NHS breast enhancement but she insisted that there had been no sexual connotation to her actions.

She said she had been repelled by Mr Tunney's drunken advance afterwards, in which he tried to climb on top of her and felt her breasts.
"I felt in fear of my safety and was completely shocked and horrified," she said. "I did not know when he was going to stop. It was an awful nightmare."
Mr Psaras must pay a total of £53,958 for the harassment and dismissal and Mr Tunney £5,256.
Speaking after the hearing, Mr Psaras said: "I sent her the most expensive text ever sent. It could ruin my whole business."