The Employment and Labour Relations Court ruled against Chandarana supermarket in a sexual harassment case involving its staff.
In a ruling on February 26, Justice Nzioka wa Makau held that the woman in question had declined all advances and favors by the manager.
“The claimant’s case was that on or about June 2017, she started expressing issues at her workplace occasioned by the Respondent’s Branch Manager,” the ruling read in part.
“She asserted that she received sexual advances from the said branch manager which she declined on several occasions brewing animosity from him.”
According to the court, the female employee had rejected sexual advances via WhatsApp texts late in the night, constant invitation for dinner and assignment of duties offered closer to the manager’s office at the Chadarana branch.
Rejected Free Offers
She had also denied being offered alcohol, free yoghurt from the supermarket and also preferential treatment compared to other employees.
However, these actions led to a hostile work environment and eventually her resignation.
Her ordeal began when she refused the freebies from her manager, shortly after being employed as a cashier in May 2017.
Subsequently, she faced disciplinary action for allegedly losing a Ksh1,000 note, an accusation she vehemently denied leading to a one-week job suspension.
Despite evidence clearing her name, she was summoned to a disciplinary meeting where an apology was issued, implying liability.
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“She was then summoned to a disciplinary meeting in which the issue was solved and that it was later established that she was never involved in the loss of the said money,” the statement continued.
The woman shared the sexual harassment complaints with the Respondents general manager in which the issue was addressed, apology issued and later she received a transfer letter from the respondent on August 24, 2017.
Transfer to Another Supermarket Branch
The Court heard that her colleagues openly discussed the issue pushing her to resign.
She argued that the work environment violated her rights to dignity and reasonable working conditions.
She also told the court that she was not aware of any disciplinary action that was taken against the branch manager who had subjected her to the sexual harassments.
“The claimant further averred that her employment prospects are severely damaged because of the circumstances that led to her resignation,” noted the court.
The supermarket contended that her dismissal was justified due to alleged misconduct captured on CCTV, where she was seen picking up the Ksh1,000 note.
However, she denied the accusation and even offered to settle the matter.
It was during the subsequent hearing that she raised sexual harassment claims.
Relationship at work
She further testified that her relationship with the manager initially seemed professional but took a turn when he suggested that she move to Ngara and offered to pay her rent.
He also warned her not to disclose their conversations, raising more red flags.
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Despite the supermarket’s claims that the victim was aware of their sexual harassment policy, she insisted that she never complained formally.
However, she had informed the Human Resource Manager of the harassment allegations during her resignation.
In her testimony, the HR manager said that the communication between the two was friendly and did not amount to sexual harassments.
“She was transferred because she did not feel safe at the diamond plaza branch,” she noted.
She also questioned why the victim offered to pay the Ksh1,000 that she had claimed she didn’t take and why she filed the case a year later after the incident.
The HR further noted that the branch manager had broken down mentally due to illness and went back to India.
At the same time, the victim had presented text messages in court as evidence that she was not interested in having a relationship with the manager and also told him that she was not looking for someone yet.
“The claimant shared a text that she sent on June 24, 2017, informing her boss that she was not looking for anyone at the moment. On various occasions she had to beg him to allow her to sleep as he kept texting late into the night,” noted Nzioka.
Court Ruling
Justice Nzioka ordered the supermarket to give her Ksh89,200 for wrongful dismissal and Ksh500,000 for harassment.
“She is therefore entitled to recover to some degree being the sum due for sexual harassments and some compensations for the terminations,” read the charges.
“Damages for the said sexual harassments are at the direction of the court and in my considered view the sum of Ksh500,000 would suffice for compensation. The claimant is entitled to receive three months compensation for the termination as well as cost of the suit that totals to Ksh89,200.”
