In a recent development, a 49-year-old woman named Karen Farquharson from Scotland has been awarded compensation amounting to £37,000 (approximately Rs 37.5 lakh) after her boss accused her of using menopause as an excuse to miss work. Karen had been an employee of Thistle Marine, an engineering firm in Scotland, since 1995 and had been earning Rs 38 lakh before departing from the organization.
The incident unfolded in August 2021 when Karen informed her boss, 72-year-old Jim Clark, about her menopausal symptoms and the accompanying anxiety and brain fog. In December 2022, she requested to work from home for two days due to menopausal bleeding and heavy snow near her residence. On the third day, when she arrived at the office around 2 pm, she encountered Mr. Clark in the corridor, who made a sarcastic comment, saying, “Oh, I see you’ve made it in.”
Karen explained her situation to her boss, but he dismissed her reasons, asserting that everyone experiences aches and pains. Disturbed by this reaction, Karen Farquharson decided to take legal action against the company, claiming unfair dismissal and harassment.
During the tribunal, Mr. Clark defended his comments, insisting they were innocent and that Karen was merely attempting to secure funds for her wedding. However, the panel of judges found his response lacking in empathy and ruled in favor of Farquharson, ordering the company to pay her the compensation.
The panel chairman, James Hendry, expressed that Jim Clark, while a successful businessman, lacked empathy for others. He noted that Mr. Clark appeared to have little respect for individuals who faced challenges in their work due to illness or other reasons, unlike himself.
Farquharson revealed that her boss resisted change and was averse to being challenged on various matters. She had been associated with the company for 27 years but felt mistreated by the organization. She stated that her attempts to address issues related to what is considered acceptable conduct in the workplace fell on deaf ears.
As a subsequent development, Farquharson also discovered that her remote access to the company’s account system had been disabled, making it impossible for her to work from home.
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Source: MoneyControl
