NHS pharmacy worker sent home for wearing ‘short dress’ and told by colleague she did ‘not have the guts to pull off’ clothes she wore wins sex-related harassment case

An NHS hospital pharmacy assistant who was sent home for wearing a ‘short dress’ has successfully sued Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust for sex-related harassment arguing that she was ‘body shamed.’ 

Levinna Ola claimed that during her employment at a pharmacy assistant, at King’s College Hospital in London she felt ‘traumatised, embarrassed and degraded’ by comments from colleagues. 

A tribunal heard that Ola, who was ultimately summarily dismissed for failing to complete dispensary logs,  was accused of having ‘issues of short skirtness’ by as she wore hemlines three inches above the knee. 

One one occasion Ola was sent home by bosses as she had breached NHS trust dress code guidelines on ‘revealing clothing.’ 

That she was sent home was ultimately key to her argument as employment tribunal bosses ruled that in doing so bosses had ‘violated her dignity’. 

An NHS hospital pharmacy assistant who was sent home for wearing a ‘short dress’ has successfully sued Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust

Comparisons were made towards the treatment of male colleagues who had only been spoken to when they wore jeans to work as opposed to being sent home. 

The tribunal heard that Ola was subjected to numerous comments from fellow colleagues on her dress sense with one saying they ‘would not have the guts to pull off’ what she wore. 

The tribunal was told that when Ola first joined the unit in 2020, she wore ‘smart blouses and tops and trousers’ but less than a year later her dress style changed with her once wearing a ‘leather body belt.’ 

Manager, Selina Quainoo then informed Ola that colleagues had complained that they ‘did not like her style of dressing’ and that one manager had said they were ‘unable to concentrate’ due to it.

 A short while later, Ola arrived at work wearing a dress that had a hemline two to three inches above the knee but that the tribunal noted was ‘not tight’. 

She was sent home on this occasion by Quainoo and another manager who said her outfit was ‘inappropriate for work’.

The former pharmacy assistant will be awarded compensation at a later date 

In her ruling, judge Christine Macey, said: ‘It is more likely for a woman to be subjected to comments about her body shape, whether that be a reference to her height or weight’. 

The judge also said that comments made by Ola’s bosses had ‘violated’ her dignity and that she had been body shamed. 

Claims of sex discrimination and sexual harassment against Kings College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust were dismissed and compensation will be decided at a later date.   

Source: Read Full Article