Hairdresser wins £20,000 discrimination claim after bosses ordered her to pick up dog poo in the car park when they found out she was Muslim
- Tonie Bond won £20,000 in damages after she was discriminated against
- She claims that she was forced to pick up dog poo because she is Muslim
- An employment tribunal found Ms Bond the victim of religious discrimination
A hairdresser has won more than £20,000 after being ordered by her boss to pick up dog mess from the salon car park when they found out she was Muslim.
Former model Tonie Bond claimed she was made to pick up the faeces and take out rubbish by Leanne Large, whose mother owned the barber shop.
Ms Bond, who is in her 50s, was also the victim of an exaggerated rumour that she had made sexual comments to a teenage boy while he was having his hair cut.
And when she was forced off work with anxiety and depression Miss Large repeatedly filmed her walking past the salon, remarking that she was ‘laughing’ at us.
An employment tribunal ruled that Ms Bond was the victim of religious discrimination and had been made to perform menial tasks because she was Muslim.
Former model Tonie Bond (pictured) claimed she was made to pick up the faeces and take out rubbish by Leanne Large, whose mother owned the barber shop
It ordered the ‘Lads and Dads’ salon in Colwyn Bay, north Wales, to pay her more than £20,000 in compensation.
The tribunal heard Ms Bond began working at the barber’s in 2016. At some point, Ms Leanne, who also worked there, discovered she was Muslim.
Within six months of starting as a hairdresser, Ms Bond was instructed to take rubbish out of the workshop and to clean up dog excrement in the car park, even though someone else was responsible for that.
One customer told the panel that in the summer of 2017: ‘Ms Large said that she ‘had recently learned that Tonie was a Muslim and that she couldn’t have that’.’
Ms Large told the customer that Ms Bond had been ‘flirting with younger customers’.
Ms Bond, who is in her 50s, was also the victim of an exaggerated rumour that she had made sexual comments to a teenage boy while he was having his hair cut
The tribunal heard that a letter was sent to the salon which read: ‘My sixteen-year-old son is a regular customer of yours, on his recent visit he was seen by a fifty-year-old lady who made very improper comments to him. My son was very embarrassed by this and when he told me what was said I was utterly disgusted’.
Ms Bond told the tribunal in Mold, Flintshire that Miss Large had falsely told her the letter specifically referred to her as the hairdresser concerned.
She said she was very upset about this and demanded that the salon put a note in its window exonerating her, claiming ‘gossip’ could harm her career.
An employment tribunal ruled that Ms Bond was the victim of religious discrimination and had been made to perform menial tasks because she was Muslim
Ms Bond took sick leave from the barber’s due to stress.
But while she was off work, Ms Large videoed her on two occasions walking past the shop window, which she said added to her anxiety. Eventually, after a long period of absence due to ill health, the company owner dismissed her in July 2018.
The tribunal found the salon guilty of religious discrimination, unlawful deduction of wages, unfavourable treatment. It concluded: ‘We find on the balance of probabilities that the direction to take out the rubbish and clean up dog excrement were acts of direct discrimination on the grounds of perceived religion.’
Ms Bond was awarded £19,352 in damages, plus nearly £1,000 in unpaid wages.
The judgement reads: ‘The discriminatory conduct led to the claimant’s disability, her extended sickness absence, (and) her continuing ill health.’