Boss accuses employee of using menopause as excuse, she wins Rs 37.5 lakh as compensation

A mother of two, Karen Farquharson further said her boss would refer to her colleagues, who called sick as "snowflakes". (Representational Image).

A woman in Scotland won a compensation of Rs 37.5 lakh (37,000 pounds) after her boss accused her of using menopause as an excuse, a BBC report said.

49-year-old Karen Farquharson was an employee of Thistle Marine- an engineering firm in Scotland-since 1995 and had been earning Rs 38 lakh, before leaving the organisation.

In August 2021, the woman informed her boss, identified as 72-year-old Jim Clark, that she was having menopause symptoms and was also experiencing anxiety and brain fog.  In December 2022, the woman opted to work from home for two days as she was suffering menopausal bleeding and there was also heavy snow, near her house.

On the third day, she came to work at 2 pm and saw Mr Clark on the corridor, who passed a sarcastic comment saying "Oh, I see you've made it in."

The woman told him about her situation, but her boss dismissed her reasons and said that everyone suffered from aches and pains.

Disturbed by his reaction, Farquharson sued the company for unfair dismissal and harassment. At the tribunal, Mr Clark said that his comments were innocent and the woman was trying to get money for her wedding.

But the panel of judges felt that he had not shown any empathy in the situation and asked the company to pay the compensation to Farquharson. "Jim Clark can best be described a blunt, self-made man and successful businessman. He no doubt has many admirable qualities but empathy for others is not among them.

"It became clear to us that he has little time or respect for those, unlike himself, who are not able to work as hard or without illness as he has, " panel chairman James Hendry said.

Farquharson said that her boss did not like being challenged and had not changed as a person, over time. "I had known this company for 27 years and they treated me like rubbish. Mr Clark, didn't like change. He didn't like being challenged on things.

"He didn't move with the times. I tried to explain some issues in what you can say and what you can't say and it just fell on deaf ears," she told BBC.

Later, the woman discovered that the remote access to the company accounts system had been disabled, which meant she could no longer work from home.