£16,000 for butcher’s shop victim of sex bias

Anne Rutherford, of Dunscroft, Doncaster, took Rotherham-based Crawshaws butchers to the tribunal after she was demoted to an assistant when managers claimed she had been “abrupt”.

The tribunal heard that Mrs Rutherford had complained about the behaviour of male employees, who she said had been regularly abusive towards female employees but had escaped sanctions.

She said that had been treated unfairly for her “abruptness” while her male colleagues had been allowed to get away with unacceptable behaviour and had not faced any disciplinary action.

The tribunal panel awarded Mrs Rutherford the cash, which included £8,000 for injury to feelings, after a three-day hearing in Sheffield.

She said: “I finally feel vindicated now. I am very happy that I decided to pursue my claim against Crawshaws and prove that I was treated unfairly – this was the most important thing to me.

“I hope to show that this kind of behaviour is not acceptable and people do not have to put up with being treated in this way. Since the tribunal I have regained so much confidence, I can now start to look ahead.”

Mrs Rutherford’s solicitor, Scott Sim of Sheffield-based Howells, said: “Both Mrs Rutherford and Howells are very happy with the outcome of this tribunal.

“Discrimination of any kind in the workplace should not be tolerated. While we believe that most employers are doing their utmost to treat their employees fairly, there are still people being subjected to discrimination.

“This case shows that ill-treated employees like Anne Rutherford can achieve justice.”

Crawshaws, which has 20 outlets in the Yorkshire region, did not respond to a request for comment on the case.