Whilst the protection from discrimination afforded to employees in the Equality Act is incredibly important, the protection from harassment is equally significant. Harassment is defined as unwanted conduct that is related to a person’s protected characteristic, which has the purpose or effect of violating that person’s dignity, or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, or offensive environment for them. This month, the employment tribunal heard a case brought by Ms Muna Abdi against her employer, Deltec International Courier Limited. Ms Abdi identified herself as a black female of Somali origin who was a hijab-wearing Muslim. A discussion took place between herself and two work colleagues on the subject of ‘white privilege’, in which one of them stated that ‘the majority of crimes in England are made by black people’ [sic]. Ms Abdi challenged this assertion, and her colleagues attempted to research their argument on the internet. Despite finding information that did not support their contention, they reiterated their position. Shortly after this heated discussion, Ms Abdi had to log into a computer with a colleague’s login details. She saw a WhatsApp chat that included the colleagues with whom she had had the heated exchange, as well as her manager and others.…
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Legal Corner:Muslim woman who sees offensive WhatsApp chat succeeds in harassment …
