A former cashier at a casino gets £74,000 in compensation after her colleagues didn’t invite her for an outing and went out for drinks without her. The incident took place in Aspers casino in Stratford, east London.
She was awarded a total of £74,113.65 for injury to feelings and loss of overtime.
51-year-old Rita Leher felt shunned when all the Aspers casino employees went out together and she was the only one who was not invited.
Her colleagues insensitively started discussing the outing in front of Rita who is of mixed Black African heritage. She has also made allegations of unfair dismissal, race and age discrimination.
Rita stated that she joined the casino in 2011 and had seen many of her colleagues (younger, white, or of mixed heritage) getting promotions.
She alleged that her applications for the promotion were repeatedly rejected despite her 22 years of experience in the gaming industry. Rita submitted that she had worked as a dealer in high-end London casinos and as a betting shop manager too.
Rita was signed off work in August 2018 and began a phased return in November 2021. During her return, she felt that she was ignored by her colleagues.
The panel noted that Leher had not been invited to the work event because colleagues did not wish to socialise with someone who had complained of discrimination.
“She was the only one in the room not included. We all agree it was at the very least insensitive to discuss the arrangements in front of her when she was not invited,” the panel stated.
“We unanimously agree that being excluded from discussions at work about a social occasion amongst colleagues when one would normally be included would subject an employee to a detriment at work,” said employment judge Sarah Moor.
Judge Moor added, “A reasonable employee would consider that such exclusion was to their disadvantage because they had lost the opportunity to bond with colleagues on that social occasion. The occasion was sufficiently linked to work by the fact that it was amongst work colleagues and was discussed about at work and would provide the opportunity for team bonding. We unanimously agree that this was because Ms Leher had complained about victimisation.”
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