Harassment case | Staff placed bets on who would sleep with new saleswoman first, tribunal told

A saleswoman told an employment tribunal she discovered male colleagues had placed a wager on “who would sleep with me first”, describing it as the moment she first felt sexualised at work.

Molly Craigie joined the business in September 2022 as a sales representative, visiting potential customers to secure contracts. She said that a few months into the job, in December 2022, a colleague told her about the alleged bet. In her witness statement she recalled being told that “the wager consisted of Fill, Matas (lead canvasser) and various other colleagues, betting on ‘who could bed me first’.”

She told the tribunal that this “stuck with her during her entire time with the respondent ‘as it was the first time I felt my colleagues, one of which was a member of management, sexualised me and singled me out, all down to my sex’”.

Tribunal accepts evidence of wager but dismisses harassment claim

Employment Judge Peer said Ms Craigie’s account had remained consistent, stating: “This comment was made and it stuck with her and I accept this evidence; I find there is no reason not to find her credible as to this”.