Chef awarded £80k after being sexually harassed by boss singing him Victoria Wood song
The song tells the story of a wife making sexual advances towards her hesitant husband
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Your support makes all the difference.A head chef has been awarded almost £80,000 after his boss sexually harassed him by singing a Victoria Wood song and making absurd gestures.
Sam Nunns sued his former employer - the Windermere Manor Hotel - after the hotel’s manager serenaded him with a rendition of Ms Wood’s Ballad of Barry and Freda as he made “disconcerting gestures”.
Mr Nunns has been awarded compensation of £79,119 as a result of the incident amongst several other occurrences of sexual harassment at the £170-a-night lake district hotel.
The comic song tells the story of a wife making sexual advances towards her hesitant husband featuring lyrics: “Let’s do it, let’s do it, do it till our hearts go boom/Go native, creative, living in the living room.”
The chef told the tribunal how his boss, Andrew Wilson, emphasised the lyric “let’s do it” and made gestures.
The tribunal also heard how Mr Wilson touched the chef’s thigh, bottom and nipple amongst several other incidents during their employment.
Tribunal papers say how the claimant was employed say the hotel from October 2021 to July 2022 when he resigned as a result of the harassment.
Mr Nunns said the harassment began just over a week into his employment with one of the first incidents on November 1 being Mr Wilson asking “do you need some time alone dear?” and “I’ll put olive oil on the orders list again then, shall I?” while referring to a cucumber.
The Victoria Wood incident occurred in early January 2022.
“Someone singing a song in a work environment would not normally amount to unlawful harassment,” employment judge Phil Allen said.
“The song which is the subject of the allegation is about someone propositioning someone else for sex. The Tribunal accepted that the song was sung in the way evidenced by the claimant, with particular emphasis being placed upon the words repeated regularly throughout the song of “let’s do it” and those words being accompanied by eye contact and disconcerting gestures towards the claimant.”
In February 2022, the unwanted physical contact picked up in frequency and included frequent massages and in March Mr Wilson gave Mr Nunns a hug, kissed him on the forehead and said “I love you”.
The Independent contacted Windermere Manor Hotel for a comment.
Described as “historic”, the hotel’s website invites guests to stay in their 35-bedroom establishment complete with an indoor swimming pool, bar and restaurant.
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