Morelli's former employee wins 'sleazy' behaviour case

A woman who brought a sexual harassment case against Morelli's ice cream firm has been awarded £20,000.

Shauna McFarland said she had been sexually harassed verbally while working for the firm by Remo Di Vito, who is in his 40s, a member of the extended Morelli family.

The tribunal found his conduct was "by any standard, sleazy and sustained".

Morelli's said it accepted the criticism levelled at it and Mr Di Vito no longer worked for the firm.

It apologised to all those who had been affected.

The tribunal's decision was made in November 2019 but publication was delayed after Ms McFarland challenged an anonymity order made by the tribunal judgement.

That order was removed by the tribunal in May.

'Unwanted and unwelcome'

The tribunal heard Ms McFarland, now 31 and from Coleraine, started working for Morelli's production centre in the north-coast town in 2015 as an administrative assistant.

Ms McFarland first raised a complaint of sexual harassment against Mr Di Vito in September 2016.

The tribunal found no investigation into the allegation was conducted but a verbal warning was issued to Mr Di Vito, who was a supervisor at the company.

Ms McFarland felt her complaint was not taken seriously and the family "closed ranks".

"In the view of the tribunal, the extreme leniency of the penalty imposed appeared to be symptomatic of grudging minimal compliance with the requirement to address it," the judgement said.

She said the "unwanted and unwelcome sexual attentions" - amounting to crude sexual references - started again within weeks.

The tribunal described Mr Di Vito's conduct as "probably and predictably facilitated" by the employer.

Shauna McFarland left work on a combination of sick leave and maternity leave

In December 2017, Mr Di Vito sent her a text message - described by the tribunal as "by any stretch of the imagination obscene" - to which she did not respond.

In it, he used crude language to refer to female genitalia.

In January 2018, she alleged she was subjected to further verbal harassment and, as a result, submitted a formal letter of complaint.

She then left work on a combination of sick leave and maternity leave.

Mr Di Vito was given a final written warning.

Sincere apology

The tribunal found that while Mr Di Vito accepted his conduct, he persisted in his assertions that Ms McFarland "had been as bad as he was" - although there was no evidence to support these allegations.

It also found Morelli Ice Cream had "by its action and inaction, at crucial points throughout the case, knowingly placed the claimant in harm's way".

It said the company gave the "clear message" that "it was she who was the problem", and not Mr Di Vito.

The tribunal said it was satisfied the company was "vicariously liable" for the acts of Mr Di Vito and it was ordered to pay £20,000 for injury to Ms McFarland's feelings.

Ms McFarland, whose case was supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland, said she wished her complaints had been dealt with from the beginning.

"I had no choice but to challenge this horrible and disgusting behaviour," she said.

"I hope by speaking out, it will help other women in similar situations to seek support and challenge it too.

"No woman should have to put up with this kind of behaviour at work."

Morelli Ice Cream Ltd said it deeply regretted that a then member of their team was subjected to harassment by a previous member of staff.

"We respect the decision of the tribunal and accept the criticism levelled at the company, using the findings to develop our procedures to safeguard all staff while in our employment," the firm said.

"As a company with a strong family ethos, we pride ourselves on the relationships we have with our team, promoting dignity and respect in the workplace and sincerely apologise to all those who have been affected."