A city worker is suing her former employer for sexual harassment after her boss invited her back to his hotel room to ‘have some fun’ – the Sunday Times reports.
Nathalie Abildgaard, 27, worked for IFM Investors, an Australian fund management firm with an office in London, when she claims her boss, 50-year old Frederic Michel-Verdier, harassed her at a work party in Madrid.
He allegedly told her: “If I was 20 years younger, I would have been all over you”, and suggested that they go to his hotel room so “we could have fun”, before he sent her messages — including one with his room number followed by smile emojis — later that evening.
Michel-Verdier, who is married, denies the allegations. “He said he had no recollection of having sent messages, or the content of those messages,” Amelia McArdle, IFM’s Global Head, People and Culture, said in the document shown to The Sunday Times.
“He explained that there had been a lot of drinking over the course of the evening…and stated that while he may have made some bad jokes, he did not intend any wrongdoing.”
The case against IFM and Michel-Verdier is due to come before an employment tribunal in London this week. The Sunday Times states that it will be a rare example of a City harassment case reaching court, as most are settled in advance, with the alleged victim often made to sign a gagging order in return for a pay-out.
A report from October suggests bosses are still failing to take sexual harassment issues in the workplace seriously. Maria Miller MP, Chair of the Women and Equalities Select Committee on sexual harassment at work, says that employers are “falling down” when it comes to protecting their staff from such offenses.
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“While a necessary, long-overdue conversation about experiences of sexual harassment continues in society and in the media, the impact this has had on organisations whose roles include oversight or inspection of workplaces and professionals is mixed,” she said.
“We know that employers are falling down in their responsibilities to create safe working environments.”
A survey from the BBC in late 2017 found that half of British women and a fifth of men have been sexually harassed at work or a place of study. Both genders were likely to keep the abuse secret, with 63% of women and 79% of men reporting they kept it to themselves.
Abildgaard is launching a charity to provide support employees who have suffered workplace discrimination. Legal Aid for Business Diversity will help ‘level the playing field’ for individuals taking on their employer, providing them with financial support.
The aim of the charity isn’t to say everyone should litigate their employers — it’s almost a last resort,” she said. “But if you want to do it, it shouldn’t be the money that prevents you.”
