An employee’s four complaints against a grocery store over working conditions, race harassment and sexual harassment failed. Equality Officer Tara Coogan dated the Equality Tribunal decision 23 December 2011.
The employee said her working conditions were discriminatory on gender and race grounds. The officer found no evidence that the alleged treatment was linked to either ground, and described the matters as general workplace grievances.
The employee also complained of race harassment by a manager. The officer found that most of the allegations had no clear connection to a protected ground and that the store took appropriate steps after she complained about the manager.
The sexual harassment complaint concerned text messages from the store owner, who accepted sending them and described the exchanges as flirtatious. The officer found the communication was not unwelcome to the employee and ceased when she indicated it was no longer welcome.
The officer found against the employee on all four complaints: discrimination in working conditions on gender and race grounds, race harassment and sexual harassment. The employee’s complaints all failed.