An Executive at Google was dismissed for making inappropriate sexual comments towards younger female colleagues. In one instance he invited two junior female colleagues to his hotel room to ‘blindfold them’ and on another he asked one woman to tell him ‘nice and slow’ about the ‘naughtiest thing she had ever done’. He also made jokes about hiring an escort and expensing the cost.
The Executive sought to argue that this was just his “old fashioned” sense of humour and that he was really dismissed for whistleblowing on anti-competitive practices.
The Tribunal found that dismissal was a decision a reasonable employer could have taken in the circumstances as the individual concerned was a senior member of staff, he had made at least four inappropriate comments that had clearly troubled his junior female colleagues and that he should have set a more appropriate standard of conduct, particularly given his position. The Judge dismissed his claims and confirmed that Google could not reasonably be expected to tolerate or appear to condone conduct of this sort and concluded that he had been fairly dismissed.
Although it is hard to understand how the Executive in this case could not see how offensive his comments were, this case highlights the importance of ensuring that all staff, but particularly managers and executives are fully aware about the standard of behaviour that is expected at work, and understand what is and what is not acceptable within the business. Training on diversity, inclusion and equality is absolutely key to this and should be regularly revisited to ensure that employees are provided with a safe place to work and that swift disciplinary action is taken against those who behave inappropriately.
If you are concerned about sexual harassment at your workplace please contact our specialist Employment Team on 0345 646 0406 or fill in our online enquiry form, who can provide guidance on what you can do about it.