Legal secretary wins harassment case against boss for suggestive comments
During the six weeks of her employment, Bratt's boss, Mr. Hall, had shared personal stories about his ex-girlfriend's infidelity and had dating site ads featuring lingerie-clad women on his work phone. Bratt successfully sued for sexual harassment and is now eligible for compensation.
Megan Bratt faced criticism from female colleagues at her law firm for dressing as if she were "on a night out" and for her use of fake tan and false eyelashes. However, it was only after her boss, Marcus Hall, told her she looked "nice" that she decided to resign and file a complaint against him. An employment tribunal found that Hall's comment was sexual in nature and created an intimidating environment for Bratt, who felt violated.
During the six weeks of her employment, Bratt's boss, Mr. Hall, also shared personal stories about his ex-girlfriend's infidelity and had dating site ads featuring lingerie-clad women on his work phone. Bratt successfully sued for sexual harassment and is now eligible for compensation.
The tribunal in Lincoln learned that Bratt, originally from Leeds and a law graduate from the University of Lincoln with a Master of Laws from the University of Law, began working at the firm on January 4, 2022, and quit on February 21. She started to feel uncomfortable due to comments made by Hall, who was then 60 years old.
Bratt accused Hall of sharing explicit details about his ex-girlfriend, who cheated on him with a younger police officer. He also allegedly made inappropriate comments about her appearance and stood too close to her.
On February 2, 2022, Hall commented on Bratt's appearance with a "creepy smile" and asked if he was allowed to say she looked nice. Bratt felt violated by this, particularly because of his reference to Mason Greenwood, a footballer then accused of attempted rape and controlling behavior. This conversation left Bratt feeling frozen and unsure of how to respond.
Two days later, while helping Hall install an app, Bratt saw provocative images of women from dating sites on Hall's Facebook account. A couple of weeks later, she was shown a video of Hall's girlfriend in a suggestive pose.
After resigning, Bratt filed a grievance, but the tribunal found it was not handled fairly, as long-time colleagues of Hall did not take her complaints seriously. The panel noted one colleague, Justine Fletcher, attacked Bratt personally, calling her a "Love Island reject" and accusing her of dressing inappropriately. Another colleague, Shona Nelson, criticized Bratt's use of fake tan and false eyelashes and claimed her social media posts were more revealing than the content shown by Hall.
The firm defended Hall's behavior as "office banter" and suggested Bratt made the complaints due to work mistakes. However, the tribunal upheld her sexual harassment claim, concluding that Hall's behavior constituted unwanted conduct of a sexual nature and created an intimidating environment for Bratt.
The tribunal was critical of the firm's response to Bratt's complaints, noting that her attire and social media posts were used as inappropriate evidence against her. The amount of Bratt's compensation will be determined later.
