In the case of Mrs K Anderson v Thistle Marine (Peterhead) Ltd and James Duncan Clark Karen Farquharson, who worked at the engineering firm Thistle Marine for 27 years, won substantial compensation after her boss, Jim Clark made light of her menopause and dismissed it as “aches and pains.”
She suffered heavy bleeding, anxiety and brain fog as a result of the menopause, which meant she sometimes worked from home. However, company founder Jim Clark dismissed her medical problems and told her to “just get on with it,” an employment tribunal heard.
After complaining to the company about the way she was treated, her access to the company accounts system was cut off and she wasn’t able to work remotely anymore. In the end, the mother-of-two resigned from her role and took the firm to the tribunal.
It heard that the 49-year-old “had observed that Jim Clark had an issue with employees taking holidays or being off ill” while working at Thistle Marine, based in Peterhead, North-east Scotland.
The tribunal also heard that the boss would “often refer to employees who were off sick as ‘snowflakes'”. In December 2022, Mrs Farquharson worked from home for two days, first due to heavy snow and then because of her menopausal bleeding. A day later, she arrived in the office at around 2pm.
The tribunal heard that she told Mr Clark he had “no understanding” of what she was going through. She also emphasised that he didn’t understand the discomfort and challenges she faced when experiencing heavy bleeding.
However, Mr Clark dismissively mentioned the menopause, saying: “A’biddy has aches and pains.”‘ At the tribunal, Mr Clark said the remarks were “innocent.” He also suggested his former employee had created the situation so she could get money for a wedding.
Upholding Mrs Farquharson’s claims of unfair dismissal and harassment, the panel said: “Jim Clark can best be described as a blunt, self-made man and successful businessman. He no doubt has many admirable qualities but empathy for others is not among them. It became clear to us…that he has little time or respect for those, unlike himself, who are not able to work as hard or without illness as he has.”
Furthermore, the panel added that Mrs Farquharson “felt a deep sense of betrayal and upset at the way in which she had been treated by Jim Clark and the comments he had made” and concluded they had violated her dignity.
In total, she was awarded £37,379.56 in compensation.
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