Sex discrimination

Case 4: The facts

Personal assistant Mrs Mahmoud was subjected to a campaign of harassment by the director general of her employer; this included making false allegations against her and encouraging others to do the same. A tribunal upheld her claim of sex discrimination, but her employer appealed on the grounds that the reason for her treatment was not that she was a woman.

The ruling

The Employment Appeal Tribunal held that there was sufficient evidence to support a finding of sex discrimination, and upheld the tribunal’s decision.

Although there was evidence that the director general was “overbearing” generally and there had been other complaints of bullying, the treatment of Mahmoud went over and above this, enabling the tribunal to draw an inference of discrimination.

This was supported by evidence that the director general had said Mahmoud’s behaviour was inappropriate for her “as a woman”, and a witness statement that his behaviour was “exploitation of the weakness of women in Islamic culture”.

Islamic Cultural Centre and London Central Mosque and another v Mahmoud EAT/0615/06