Ms L Millin, Counsel v Respondent — 2018

The tribunal found that the claimant worked in an environment where Mr Barca shouted and swore at staff, and that this conduct was supported by his own admissions and by corroborative evidence from other witnesses. It accepted that Lily made a series of age-related comments about the claimant being too old or less capable than the younger predecessor Marina, and it accepted that Mr Barca used sexually abusive language towards the claimant. The tribunal also rejected the suggestion that the disputed race allegation had any racial connotation.

Age-related harassment succeeded in respect of the incidents identified in the reasons as numbers 6, 8, 12 and 17, because the remarks were related to age and reasonably had the effect of creating a degrading or offensive environment. Sex-related harassment succeeded because the tribunal found that Mr Barca's use of terms such as "stupid cow" and "stupid cunt" was unwanted conduct related to sex and had the effect of creating a hostile environment. Claims against Mr Hall failed, and the tribunal held that the remaining age, race and general harassment allegations were not made out.

On the resignation issue, the tribunal held that the claimant's employment history showed a prolonged accumulation of abuse, and that the final shouting and swearing on 1 June 2016 was the last straw after which she resigned, giving four weeks' notice. It therefore found a constructive dismissal on ordinary employment-law principles. However, it concluded that the resignation was not because of age or sex, so the direct discrimination claim linked to the resignation failed.

No remedy was assessed in this judgment. The tribunal said there would need to be a remedy hearing unless the parties could agree terms, and invited the parties to submit directions within 14 days of the judgment.