Lucy’s story
Lucy worked part-time for a small business which employed around 15 men, with her being the only female. She enjoyed her job and was good at it. As time went on, she got to know a number of her colleagues and they got on well.
The company was owned by one man ‘The Boss’ who immediately made it clear that he thought Lucy was attractive. He often addressed her as “Hi gorgeous” or “Hello beautiful”. She found this uncomfortable but didn’t say anything as she didn’t want to rock the boat. She told herself ‘that’s just his way’ and it’s fine as he is married and he knows I am married.
The Boss was always overly familiar with Lucy but she didn’t want to get on the wrong side of him. She had heard him arguing and swearing with the male employees and she didn’t want any conflict.
As time went on, The Boss, started making personal comments about how Lucy looked. Sometimes they were nice:
“You go and tell the guys the news, they’ll listen to you as you’re so beautiful,” he said as he touched her arm.
“You look beautiful today xxx”, he sent by email.
Sometimes they were cruel:
“Your arms are so thin they look like chicken nuggets”, as he held up her arm in front of other men in the office
“Your hair looks a mess today, is that why you were late in”, as he flicked her hair when walking past.
After The Boss commented on Lucy’s hair she felt upset and humiliated. The other men in the office looked embarrassed but no one said anything.
She went and spoke to The Boss and he said she was “being sensitive”. Lucy said she just wanted to be treated like everyone else, like one of the boys.
Later that day The Boss came up to Lucy, punched her on the arm and said loudly “Did you get your leg over this weekend?”. Lucy shouted at him and asked him what the hell he was doing. He had hurt her arm and humiliated her again. The Boss said he was just “treating her like one of the boys”.
After that incident, things calmed down for a while and Lucy tried to stay away from The Boss as much as she could. Until one morning, she had a meeting with him.
Lucy was standing waiting for him to walk past and as he squeezed through the gap in the table, he casually patted her on her lower stomach. Lucy felt shocked and sickened and immediately told him that he was out of order. The Boss once again said she was “overly sensitive” and dismissed it.
When Lucy got home that evening she felt that too many boundaries had been crossed and she sent him an email. She wanted to make it clear that she did not want to be touched by him ever again.
The Boss didn’t reply to the email and when she raised it with him over the phone he caused an argument. He told Lucy that she should “consider her position in the company” as she had made him feel uncomfortable.
Thankfully, Lucy had a friend who was a solicitor who gave her the advice to resign with an email outlining why he had made her feel she could no longer return to work. The solicitor thought they had a strong case for a sexual harassment tribunal.
Lucy and her solicitor took the case to ACAS for mediation. Naturally, The Boss didn’t want to go to tribunal and Lucy eventually received a lump sum payout from him.
Lucy hopes that any future women employed in the company are treated with more respect than she was. As uncomfortable and stressful as the situation was, Lucy is glad she stood up for herself.
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