Female fire worker sues after male boss's Mulberry handbag comment

A female fire brigade worker has sued for harassment after her male boss made a remark about his wife having a Mulberry handbag just like hers. 

Tayba Amber accused Martin McCarthy of being a 'sexual predator' after his comment during a meeting about her return to work from sick leave, an employment tribunal heard.

He asked her if she would later be going to the Mulberry shop - where bags can cost more than £1,500 - and said he had spent a 'considerable amount of money' on handbags for his wife.

Ms Amber included Mr McCarthy's comments in a series of tribunal claims she made against Bradford-based West Yorkshire Fire and Rescue Service.

However, the tribunal found that while his Mulberry remarks were 'unwise' and a 'clumsy attempt' to gain Ms Amber's confidence, this did not amount to sexual harassment.

Ms Amber lost her claims for race discrimination, disability discrimination, sexual harassment and unfair dismissal, though did successfully sue for victimisation.

The tribunal, held in Leeds, heard that Ms Amber started working as an information governance assistant at the fire and rescue service in 2016.

In March 2022 she went on sick leave for work-related stress which lasted until she resigned in January last year.

During her absence she had meetings with her managers about a potential return to work including one with Mr McCarthy, the director of corporate services, in August 2022.

During that conversation he mentioned his marital status as he had recently split up with his wife and that he felt lonely, the tribunal heard.

'At the end of the meeting, Mr McCarthy commented on [Ms Amber's] Mulberry handbag,' the hearing was told.

'He said that in the context of her saying she was going to meet up with some friends and go for some retail therapy and, noticing that she had a Mulberry handbag, he made a comment to the effect that his wife had one of those.

'[His] recollection is that he had asked what she was doing after the meeting and whether she was going to the Mulberry shop. She said he had said he had spent a considerable amount of money on handbags for his wife.'

Ms Amber told the tribunal that she felt Mr McCarthy had made the meeting into a 'sexualised freakshow' and called him a 'sexual predator'.

The panel found that the comments about Ms Amber's Mulberry handbag were not sexual harassment but 'probably unwise'.

Employment Judge David Jones said: 'The discussion about his wife's shopping habits and having a Mulberry handbag fell into a similar category.

'Raising his personal situation in this type of meeting was unnecessary, and probably unwise, but reflected his attempt to demonstrate some sort of empathy.

'Given the very different circumstances of these two employees, they were never likely to resonate with [Ms Amber].

'This was a clumsy attempt to gain [Ms Amber's] confidence, but it was not conduct either related to sex or of a sexual nature.'

The tribunal heard that in December 2022 the brigade's director of human resources Ian Brandwood emailed Ms Amber to say that her most recent fit note had not been received and that unless it was sent within three days her pay would be suspended.

Mr Brandwood then emailed her therapist to ask what reasonable adjustments she would suggest should be made for her given complaints Ms Amber had made about her colleagues, adding that there was a 'requirement' for her to 'work constructively' with the rest of her team.

That month Ms Amber submitted grievances for sexual harassment against Mr McCarthy and harassment and victimisation by Mr Brandwood, neither of which was upheld.

Ms Amber then resigned to take a new job with the NHS before moving to a role with West Yorkshire Police in March last year.

The tribunal found that she had been victimised by a threat to suspend her pay, an email to her therapist portraying her as 'unreasonable' and the 'unfair' handling of her complaint against Mr McCarthy.

A hearing to decide her compensation will be held at a later date.