A STUDENT has settled a case of alleged sexual harassment against Applegreen for £6,000.
Jody Jones (17) was working part time at the service station chain near Templepatrick when she claimed that a male co-worker made offensive and sexually explicit comments towards her.
Ms Jones said she reported the incidents to her manager but Applegreen did not take any action. She later resigned and reported the case to the Equality Commission.
The case was settled without Applegreen admitting liability.
Ms Jones said she had initially enjoyed her work but the sexual comments made towards her left her feeling "uncomfortable and embarrassed".
"Later during the same shift he made more comments and I was humiliated by what he said," she said.
"I reported both the incidents to my manager and she replied all she could do was apologise.
"I discovered my complaints hadn’t been passed on to the store director and I told my parents what had happened.
"They were extremely concerned and they accompanied me to the shop the following day".
Ann McKernan, legal director at the Equality Commission, said it is important that employers have policies in place to deal with such matters.
While they did not admit liability, Applegreen apologised to Ms Jones for any distress caused and agreed to liaise with the Equality Commission in order to review its policies and practices in relation to harassment.
