I won £60k after my ASDA boss shouted at me for wearing shoes with pink soles – it was unacceptable
AN ASDA sales assistant won more than £60,000 after her boss shouted at her for wearing shoes with pink soles to work.
Svitlana Genderson was also threatened, denied breaks, excluded from team huddles, subjected to 'nasty' comments, and left to work in cold chillers for more than five hours.
Supermarket bosses in Accrington, Lancashire, singled her out over five months in 2019 because of her Ukrainian nationality, Employment Judge Jennifer Ainscough ruled.
Section leader Fozia Khan raged over her shoes while letting English colleagues get away with it because she knew she would not resist, the tribunal in Manchester heard.
Her other section leader Mark Bates saw her as an “easy target” because he knew she was Ukrainian and “that her cultural work ethic made her subservient to managers”, Judge Ainscough added in Manchester.
Mr Bates picked on her in quiet areas without witnesses and delayed her breaks by giving her extra tasks while letting others break at appropriate times.
READ MORE UK NEWS
He also spoke to her condescendingly and followed her after challenging her on the shop-floor.
And Mrs Henderson feared she would be assaulted when he invaded her space and stared at her threateningly after inviting her in for a “friendly chat”.
She lost trust in her employer when no action was taken, despite reporting the harassment between January and May 2019 every fortnight.
Mrs Henderson worked for ASDA from September 2003 until she resigned in May 2019.
Most read in The Sun
She worked at ASDA in Blackburn, Lancs, before moving to Accrington and had a strong work ethic.
She won more than £63,000 after suing ASDA for racial harassment and constructive unfair dismissal.
Judge Ainscough added: "There was constant badgering of Mrs Henderson without substance and without reason, and this ground her down such that she lost trust and confidence, particularly when her complaints were not acted upon.
Read More on The Sun
"She could see other colleagues being treated more favourably and that she was singled out."
Mrs Henderson suffered mental health issues as a result of the harassment and is now unfit to work.