http://annchinchan.blogspot.co.nz/2014/11/woman-to-appeal-against-fun-bum-slap.html
Woman to appeal against 'fun' bum slap ruling
A boss who slapped his employee's bottom has praised the Employment
Relations Authority for not automatically favouring the woman
complainant by finding it was not sexual harassment, but a "fun slap".
In
a judgment released this week, authority member Anna Fitzgibbon found
The Plant Place owner Bruce Sanson did not sexually harass former
employee Ella Newman.
This afternoon Newman responded that she was "disappointed ... but feeling strong" and would appeal.
The
23-year-old resigned the day after the December 2013 incident, and then
alleged Sanson had previously sexually harassed her during the two
years she worked at his Hamilton garden centre.
Fitzgibbon rejected those claims, calling Newman an unreliable witness and questioning why she did not complain earlier.
The December 2013 bottom slap was "inappropriate and should not be repeated" but took place during a joke, Fitzgibbon said.
"Ms
Newman was being cheeky about Mr Sanson's floppy hat and he slapped her
on the bottom. It was a one-off slap, which I accept was a 'fun slap'."
Mr Sanson told the
Herald on Sunday the finding was "groundbreaking".
"I
assumed there would be too many precedents before it that would
disallow it [being thrown out]. I don't think many [sexual harassment]
cases get thrown out .. that was my only worry, that the girl would get
more believed than the guy."
The slap was his first and last to a woman.
"It
was something that just happened and you wished afterwards it probably
shouldn't have happened ... I always thought she was a good friend and
the relationship would've handled that."
The slap was "never a real case of sexual harassment".
"Wise
counsel should have been brought to bear and good advice given in the
earlier part of the year by people that should've known better than to
let it go on."
Other incidents alleged by Newman were not true.
They "bumped each other" in the small work space, but it wasn't sexual,
Sanson said.
"She wasn't my type."
The single dad of adult children had offered Newman her job back.
"I
still respect the girl. She's still a very good employee, I think it
was just a youthful mistake. I thought she would've managed the garden
centre within a year or two ... just because she's made a silly mistake
doesn't mean that she's a bad person."
Newman stood by all her complaints and said the Roger Sutton case had convinced her "that I need to fight on".
Sutton,
the Christchurch Earthquake Recovery Authority chief executive, was
found to have committed serious misconduct after a female staff member
complained of unwanted hugs and comments.
Newman said she felt
"let down" by the authority. She had not complained about earlier
incidents - which she alleged included bottom slapping - because she
thought it might have been accidental.
She had glared at Sanson
to make her feelings clear and a text sent after her resignation showed
he knew what she was talking about, she said.
The "fun slap" was "unprovoked and forceful".
"I
had to go to the doctor. I cannot reconcile what a 'fun slap' is, let
alone in what ''context" an employer now seems to be able to do it ... I
am 23, he is 61. It is simply not appropriate in any context ... I
still can't understand how an employer can turn up to court, admit he
assaulted me by slapping my bottom, and walk away thinking he has done
nothing wrong."
Equal Opportunities Commissioner Jackie Blue said the Sutton affair put such behaviour in the spotlight.
"One of the things I would like to see come out of all of this is that woman should come forward," she said.
But she cautioned that incidents of a sexual nature had to meet a high threshold to be deemed as sexual harassment.
Sexual
harassment was usually a repeated incident, and if it was a one-off
incident it had to be quite significant and cause harm and detriment.
- additional reporting NZME.
I wrote to the Reporter .
Dear Cherie,
http://annchinchan.blogspot.co.nz/
Thank
you for your article. I am the writer of "Cry the Oppressed Women",
women suffer from FUN slaps, women suffer from smite remarks.
35
years ago, fresh from university, in my first job, a manager was a
feely touchy type. Once he gave me a Fun Slap on my bottom, I was very
upset and couldn't concentrate on my work. Eventually, I went to his
office and told him never to do it again.
If it had happened today, I would have sued him for sexual harassment.
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