In Miss M Hunter v Lidl Great Britain Limited Maddie Hunter encountered a ‘culture of harassment’ at the supermarket’s branch in Wallington, Oxfordshire, soon after she started working there in 2019 at the age of 18, according to the tribunal’s findings.
A month into the job, she asked to change tills after a male colleague moved next to hers, asked for her number and repeatedly made sexual advances towards her – but was told to ‘take it as a compliment’ instead.
The following year, another man, Michael Harding, became deputy store manager of the store.
The tribunal was told Mr Harding soon began taking his breaks with Ms Hunter and insisted on ‘sharing food with her’ against her wishes.
Ms Hunter claimed he pestered her on a daily basis touching her on the bottom, thighs and waist, and making frequent attempts to hug her.
According to the ruling, Mr Harding regularly made sexual comments, discussing ‘who he would rather sleep with, ‘what they could do’ and remarks such as ‘bet they’re good at giving head’.
Ms Hunter, who stayed in the job after completing her A-levels and was promoted, complained to the store manager about inappropriate touching and comments in October 2020.
She claims the store manager ‘laughed and said he was not surprised’ about his colleague’s alleged behaviour.
Over the following weeks, Ms Hunter made two requests to be transferred to a store with a female manager but was told there wasn’t one nearby.
She resigned in June 2021 after being told by a manager she needed to have a ‘performance discussion’ for being late – but the tribunal found only two documented instances of lateness 17 months apart.
The tribunal awarded Ms Hunter £50,884 in compensation after finding she was subjected to sexual harassment and constructive dismissal.
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