A. v. Bonmarche Ltd. (in administration)

Here, the employment judge found that the claimant was entitled to lost wages for the period between her resignation in December 2018 and the start of her new position in September 2019 on the grounds that the claimant “suffered a substantial reduction in her mental wellbeing” as a result of improper treatment and discrimination from her employer in relation to the claimant’s onset of menopause and was thereby entitled to damages emanating from injury to feelings. The claimant alleged that her store manager discriminated against her for being a woman of menopausal age. The claimant had a long work history in retail, had received multiple awards for her excellent performance, and had gotten along with her store manager until the claimant’s onset of menopause. At that point, the store manager would frequently harass and humiliate the claimant in front of her colleagues and customers, specifically commenting about her menopause. The store manager’s disparaging treatment of the claimant weakened her mental state, resulting in a nervous breakdown in November 2018 that required her to begin anti-depressant treatment. Her doctors recommended that she work reduced hours. The store manager ignored this request and told the claimant that if she could not work her full hours, she would be forced to use vacation and sick time to account for the remainder of time. The store manager continued his harassment of the claimant until she resigned on December 4, 2018. After her resignation, the claimant continued to suffer from severe mental distress and anxiety as a result of her treatment and could not find employment until she accepted a part-time position at a charity shop in September 2019. The respondent employer did not contest the evidence presented by the claimant and was absent from the proceedings. The Employment Judge “found it established on the facts that the respondent, by the actings of [the store manager] for whom they were liable, had treated the claimant less favourably than he would treat someone who was not a female of menopausal age.” Furthermore, while the claimant had not made a constructive dismissal claim, the Employment Judge accepted claimant’s position that she “resigned as a result of the discrimination against her.”