A female deli worker who was kissed on the neck against her will and pinched by a male colleague has been awarded €20,000 for ongoing sexual harassment.

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) has ordered a supermarket to pay the worker €20,000 for distress suffered and the effects of discrimination and sexual harassment.

Adjudication officer Gaye Cunningham said: “I am satisfied that these incidents were extremely serious in nature in terms of the impact and effect they had on her personally and her working environment.”

She also found the supermarket “failed to put appropriate measures in place to stop this harassment and sexual harassment from occurring or to reverse its effects”.

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She ordered that all those within the supermarket company who have staff management functions receive appropriate training in its policies on harassment, bullying and sexual harassment.

The deli worker began work in May 2018 and she alleged verbal and physical sexual harassment by a male colleague began about a month later.

She said he made inappropriate sexual comments about young girls who came into the shop, and when asked to stop as they were clearly young school girls he said that they looked old enough.

The complainant gave evidence of incidents where she felt personally threatened when, for example, the alleged perpetrator pinned her against or near a fridge and made lewd and sexually suggestive comments to her.

She stated that a manager witnessed some of the behaviour of the alleged perpetrator and when asked to intervene, the manager laughed and told the man to stop as the deli worker was from Limerick and she would stab him.

The complainant said that she was subjected to almost daily sexual assault or harassment. The woman made a formal complaint and a second female employee also made an allegation that the man touched her inappropriately.

The man was moved to work in the storeroom. However, after a few days there, he went on sick leave.

The deli manager admitted at the WRC to telling the alleged perpetrator to stop as the complainant was from Limerick and would stab him. However, he considered this a joke and did not think the complainant was upset by it.

The owner of the store said he put the allegations to the male deli worker and he denied them.

The owner said the investigation into the complaints could not be concluded as the former male deli worker had left the country.

Ms Cunningham found the supermarket failing to conclude its investigation was the most egregious flaw in the process.

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