Dad wins £20,000 after colleagues gossiped about flexible working

A man has won more than £20,000 in a sexual harassment claim after his colleagues ‘gossip’ that he had flexible working hours.

Courtney Rawlins worked as a driver for parcel delivery service DPD and made a request for flexible working prior to the birth of his daughter, which was granted in early 2022.

The agreement meant that after her birth in March 2022, he could work 10 hours a day from Monday to Thursday and would not work on Fridays. He was given an updated employment contract effective in April to reflect his hours.

Rawlins told the employment tribunal that a “breach of confidentiality” meant his colleagues knew about his new shift pattern and made comments about it behind his back.

One of his colleagues had spoken to another about the arrangement and said he didn’t understand how this could happen and that ‘it wasn’t fair’.

Although many colleagues were in favor of the shift pattern as it would allow Rawlins to spend time with his baby, the tribunal heard that ‘gossip’ took place in the canteen which ‘led to further gossip’.

Once the scheme started, some colleagues complained that they were not happy with it and that they were ‘overloaded’ with work.

Around this time, Rawlins began training to cover a new route typically staffed by two people, but ended up doing this alone, often being given extra packs as part of the workload.

He complained about this to his managers, pointing out that he would have to falsify the data to complete the work. Coworkers commented that he had extra work because he had “tomorrow off,” so it didn’t matter how busy he was on certain days.

The tribunal also heard that some colleagues were aggressive towards Rawlins, blocking his exit from meeting rooms and shouting at him for not moving his truck.

He filed a complaint with DPD in August 2022 before resigning and filing a lawsuit in October.

Employment Judge Bradford ruled that three of the incidents raised in the claim constituted sexual harassment because “it is unlikely that gossip would have occurred if a woman changed her hours or working pattern to care for her baby”.

The judge added that talking about it by his colleagues and managers would have made Rawlins feel he was in a “hostile or demeaning environment”.

Claims for unfair dismissal, constructive dismissal and sex discrimination were dismissed because he had not completed two years of qualifying service.

He was awarded £20,327 in compensation.