Employer Successfully Defends Claim of Sexual Harassment Due to Its Post-Incident Actions

This case Serhat Aksakal v. Kivaway2 Limited trading as the Odeon (ADJ-00053151) concerned a complaint under the Employment Equality Acts 1998-2015 (“the Acts”). The Complainant claimed the Respondent discriminated against him on the grounds of his gender, in circumstances where he was subjected to sexual harassment in the workplace. He also lodged a Payment of Wages claim for unpaid tips.

Facts: The Complainant was employed by the Respondent since March 2022 and at the time of the claim he was  a Commis Chef at the Respondent’s busy restaurant. The Complainant alleged he was the target of a crude sexual joke from his co-worker, the Head Chef, Mr. M. He claimed that when he bent down to retrieve something from below the countertop, Mr. M came up behind the Complainant and made a thrusting gesture against him and shouted “yee-haw”. The Complainant told the Workplace Relations Commission (“WRC”) this incident violated his dignity at work and created a degrading, humiliating and offensive environment for him. Mr. M was the Head Chef and therefore above the Complainant in the workplace hierarchy.

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