Essex boss made menopause comments before sacking worker

An employment tribunal found Leigh Best, 54, had been unfairly dismissed by Embark on Raw, a pet food business

A woman was unfairly dismissed from her job after her male employer shouted that "she must be on her menopause".

Leigh Best, 54, was dismissed as a sales assistant for pet food retailer Embark on Raw, based near Billericay, Essex, for raising Covid-19 safety concerns, an employment tribunal found.

The panel found Mrs Best was harassed due to her age and sex.

A hearing to decide what remedy she is entitled to will take place on 31 January.

The tribunal at East London Hearing Centre heard Mrs Best was employed by the company, which sells raw food for cats and dogs, from 29 January 2020 until 11 May that year.

Embark on Raw is based at Whitesbridge Farm Industrial Estate, near Billericay, Essex

David and Andrea Fletcher, the firm's husband and wife co-directors, said she was dismissed due to her "rude and confrontational communication with co-workers and managers".

But the tribunal panel found the principal reason was her whistleblowing during the early part of the Covid-19 pandemic, and that her dismissal took place with "little or no respect for a fair process or the rules of natural justice".

'Bit of a divide'

It heard the company made efforts to be Covid-safe, but Mrs Best claimed these procedures were not actually implemented and enforced and that co-workers were not wearing face coverings and failing to follow social distancing rules.

When she raised her concerns, she was told to be "realistic and not paranoid" but there was no documented investigation of her claims.

Her employers said she had "created a bit of a divide" in the business, and she was given a verbal warning, but the panel found this was not confirmed in writing or correctly recorded.

The panel heard Mr Fletcher made inappropriate and derogatory comments to Mrs Best about her age and sex, but found her claim he had said her husband would start looking "at other younger women now" was not proven.

Leigh Best has started her own business after her dismissal in 2020

It was satisfied, however, that Mr Fletcher had shouted that "she must be on her menopause" on 20 March 2020 during an argument about a mix-up with orders.

On another occasion, when a customer in the shop talked about a "hot flush", Mrs Best said "I don't even want to hear about it… I don't want to know", but the panel said Mr Fletcher pursued the topic.

The action "had the effect of violating [Mrs Best's] dignity and of creating a humiliating environment for her at work."

The panel concluded "Mr Fletcher invaded the claimant's privacy, broached a highly sensitive topic for her and acted tactlessly."

The panel found Mrs Best was less favourably treated after raising safety concerns and agreed that her employer "clearly had an issue" from that point, and that she also "added to their frustrations" by raising the issue of Mr Fletcher's comments on her age and sex.