Elizabeth Benassi, then aged 18, was sacked after wearing trainers and sued her former employers, Maximus UK Services, leading to a tribunal in Croydon which found in her favour
A teenager who was “treated like a child” when she was sacked after wearing trainers to work has won almost £30,000 at an employment tribunal.
Elizabeth Benassi successfully sued her former employers for victimisation after she was ‘unfairly tackled’ by business manager Ishrat Ashraf over her footwear. The tribunal, held in Croydon, heard Ms Benassi was 18 when she joined Maximus UK Services – which works for the Department of Work and Pensions in August 2020.
The firm helps to get people back into work and away from benefits but Miss Benassi alleged she was ‘treated like a child’ over her trainers and insisted other staff who also wore them were not sanctioned. When she was dismissed from the recruitment company after three months, she took them to an employment tribunal and her claims have now been upheld by a judge who said bosses had a ‘desire to find fault’ with her.
The now 20 year old was awarded total compensation of £29,187. It was heard her colleagues were “a young group of employees” who were mainly in their early twenties but she was the youngest.
The young employment adviser said she was was not happy at the way she had been spoken to and emailed Ms Ashraf to say so. She wrote at the time: “This morning you mentioned that I am not allowed to wear trainers to work. Despite not being aware of this, as I have never worn trainers to work before, I apologised for this, and you rolled your eyes.
“I have now realised I am not the only one wearing trainers today and I have not seen anyone receive the same chat that I have.”
By this point, Ms Ashraf had escalated the matter to Operations Manager, Abdul Ali, who said: “I want to see a professional dress code at all times.
“This is totally unacceptable coming to work in trainers. Please adhere to a professional dress code.”
Later that day, it was heard Miss Benassi had asked if she could use the toilet in front of a client. This prompted two of her colleagues to email Ms Ashraf to say they were ‘too stunned to speak’ and was so ‘extremely embarrassed’ she ‘went bright red’.
The tribunal said Ms Benassi was ‘being closely monitored’ by her colleagues so it didn’t seem ‘remarkable that she should ask such a question’. Employment Judge Eoin Fowell quipped: “Perhaps what was embarrassing was what it said about her working environment.”.
The tribunal heard evidence of another incident, which occurred earlier that month, in which Miss Benassi attended a team building event at a bowling alley. She told the panel as the youngest member of staff she was ‘self-conscious about her age’ and told Ms Ashraf she wanted to keep it quiet. But, it was heard her manager ignored this and left Ms Benassi ‘shocked and disheartened’ as it was found out she had told staff members the employment adviser was 18.
During her employment, Ms Benassi raised a grievance against her boss. On October 31, she was invited to a probation meeting where she was told she would be dismissed, as management cited a variety of reasons.
This included ‘dress code’ and how she failed to wear ‘appropriate office attire’.
The employment adviser sued for harassment on grounds of age and victimisation, the latter of which was upheld. The company says that they sacked her over ‘concerns about her performance ‘and so her contract was terminated after three months at a probationary review stage.
Employment Judge Fowell said: “Miss Benassi was immediately and unfairly tackled about this on arrival at the office. No allowance was made for the fact she was new and may not have been familiar with the dress code.
“It was therefore a clear unfairness, and indicates a desire to find fault. She was literally being scrutinised from the moment of her arrival.
“The fact is to fail the probationary period at all is highly unusual, and there is no satisfactory explanation as to why Ms Benassi only lasted three months.”
