“Office Worker Awarded €50,000 Compensation After Sexual Assault by Male Colleague”

An office worker has been awarded over €50,000 compensation by the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) after suffering “extreme distress and trauma” when a male colleague attempted to pull down her trousers in front of other staff. The WRC ordered the maximum sum to be paid by the company, Deadline Direct Ltd trading as Deadline Couriers, after finding that the employer failed to put harassment prevention measures in place before the sexual assault and that its handling of the affair afterwards did not mitigate this. The victim, Charlotte O’Brien, gave “uncontradicted and wholly credible evidence” of the assault, which was also witnessed by numerous male colleagues who did not intervene. The company was found to have failed to provide a clear and distinct policy on sexual harassment, and no evidence of training having been provided to employees before the date of the assault was found. The victim was also subjected to pressure to return to work despite being unfit to do so and had not received an outcome on her complaint. The adjudicator ordered the company to pay two years’ pay to Ms O’Brien, who was still an employee but “unlikely” to return to work soon. The ruling highlights the importance of implementing effective harassment prevention measures and handling complaints in accordance with legislative requirements.