An IT employee sued her “rich and powerful” boss for sexual harassment after mistaking “xx” in his e mail as code for wanting kisses and his initials for ‘A Jumbo Genital’.
Project supervisor Karina Gasparova additionally interpreted Aleksander Goulandris’s use of “yy” as sexual contact, and query marks as when she can be “ready to engage in sexual acts”.
An employment tribunal at London Central Court additionally heard that Ms Gasparova thought her superior’s renaming a file along with his initials ‘AJG’ was really an acronym for ‘A Jumbo Genital’.
A decide threw out her case, ruling that she had a “skewed perception of everyday events” of her time at her paperless doc agency, essDOCS the place she had been working since November 2019.
The panel additionally heard Ms Gasparova informed bosses she thought Mr Goulandris needed to have a sexual relationship together with her, however was treating her badly as a result of she had “rejected his advances”.
She claimed this included shouting at her, undermining her in conferences with shoppers and eradicating key parts of labor from her.
The courtroom was additionally informed of an incident in November 2019, the place Ms Gasparova claimed that Mr Goulandris touched her leg along with his leg underneath the desk and “stared at her”, leaving her feeling “anxious and uncomfortable”.
The tribunal dominated the incident did happen, however it had been unintended and was “innocuous” in nature.
In a string of different claims which have been dismissed by the panel, Ms Gasparova stated Mr Goulandris touched her hand when motioning for her laptop mouse and lacking it.
It was heard when she invited him to a lunch in September 2020, “to get some peace” from him sending “lots of messages” – he declined her supply.
Ms Gasparova informed the tribunal this was as a result of “lunch involved romance and he only wanted sex”.
The similar month, when Mr Gasparova requested her when a challenge can be completed, she informed the tribunal he burst out shouting with an “extremely angry voice”, saying “I need date, date, date”.
Ms Gasparova interpreted this as having been requested “the exact date when I would finally agree on sexual contact with him”.
In October she complained about receiving an invite to the identical assembly 16 instances from Mr Goulandris – however the tribunal discovered this was not deliberate or sexual in nature.
In April 2021, she submitted an in depth grievance, which noticed all her sexual harassment allegations dismissed.
She appealed the choice in May 2021 however it was once more rejected, so she resigned.
Employment Judge Emma Burns stated: “Our primary reasons for rejecting her account of events were that we considered her perception of everyday events was skewed.
“She demonstrated a tendency to make extraordinary allegations without evidence and she contradicted herself in a way that could not be attributable to a fallible memory.
“Ms Gasparova interpreted entirely innocent work-related conduct, some of it accidental, by Mr Goulandris as having a sinister intent.”
The panel threw out her claims of direct intercourse harassment, discrimination and unfair dismissal have been dismissed.
Ms Gasparova was additionally ordered to pay £5,000 to essDOCS in prices following her failure to conform in time with elements of the tribunal procedures.
Source: www.unbiased.co.uk