A female employee at a property agency who successfully claimed both race and gender related harassment has had her award reduced by an employment tribunal.
The original award of almost £101,000 has been cut to just under £82,000.
Ms Subeena Khan worked for five months, between March 6 and August 7, 2017, in admin and accounts at SN Estates Property Services in Camden, London.
There were 14 allegations against SN Estates Property Services, as the first respondent, and Mr M Miah, the second.
Her allegations included “Paki comments”, and constructive dismissal, with claims for notice and holiday pay.
Ms Khan also said she had suffered from stress.
The original tribunal found that “Paki” comments had been made, but did not support all the allegations.
However, in unusually strong language, the tribunal found that the stress of dealing with an “abusive rant” on August 5 had made her unwell.
She did not go to work the next day because of her stress, and nor did she attend work on August 7. She said she was harassed by phone calls and voicemails.
The tribunal said: “This was not acceptable towards an employee who was off sick and we agree that it was of a harassing nature.”
That same day, she was dismissed by email, but a few hours later she resigned.
The tribunal found that there had been an actual, and not a constructive, dismissal.
The tribunal awarded Ms Khan £374 in lieu of notice and £772 holiday pay.
It ruled that her claims for race related harassment succeeded on seven issues, and on two issues for gender related harassment.
These matters proceeded to a second, remedy, hearing, which was held over two days in February this year.
At this, she was awarded £100,877.
The hearing said the issues were financial loss, injury to feelings, aggravated damages, psychiatric injury and pension loss.
In one phone call on August 5, she had been called a “f***ing Paki bitch”. The hearing said this was harassment related to both race and gender.
The second respondent had also said: “You can’t even do your jobs properly you retards from all corners of the world.”
The hearing said it was “not possible to pull this conversation apart and extrapolate parts of it which were not racially offensive and parts of it which were”.
It described the call as “outrageous and discriminatory”, and that it had led to his conviction for a racially aggravated malicious communication.
At Highbury Corner Magistrates Court, he had been fined £350 and ordered to pay £100 to the claimant after pleading guilty.
Ms Khan had not found work since her dismissal. She had secured interviews but performed poorly at them.
She said she suffered from sleeplessness, anxiety, paranoia and agoraphobia. This was confirmed by a medical report, and the hearing found it as a fact that Ms Khan’s condition was as she described it.
The psychiatrist said that NHS treatment had not worked and he recommended skilled private treatment.
However this month, on September 2, the £100,877 award was cut to £81,833 at the London Central Employment Tribunal after the respondents applied for reconsideration.
They said that the award of £34,000 made for Ms Khan’s psychiatric injuries was “manifestly excessive”.
This was reduced because the tribunal said there was some ambiguity in the psychiatrist’s report as to whether the injuries were moderately severe or moderate.
In total, the original award was reduced by just over £19,000.
According to Companies House, SN Estates Property Services manages property, and was incorporated in May 2008. Its four directors include Mohammed Miah.
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