Woman wins sexual harassment Employment Tribunal claim against porn film production company

MoJA woman has won her claim for sexual harassment against her employer after she alleged that her boss had made comments to her that violated her dignity.

Charlotte Lee commenced employment with Prime Film Productions (“PFP”), a film company that produced porn films, in March 2012 as a Personal Assistant (“PA”) to owner Anthony Negus. She claimed that at the time she joined the firm in 2012 she was unaware that the firm produced porn films. She stated that she became aware that Mr Negus was involved with producing porn movies when he asked her to go to Spain with him to film an erotic movie.

Throughout her employment with PFP, Ms Lee claimed that she was subjected to the following conduct by Mr Negus:

  • In May 2012 she told him that she needed 4 days off work for surgery. When asked why, she replied that she was getting a boob job. Mr Negus then asked her why she was getting it done and what she was getting done. Ms Lee stated that she found this “pressurising”.
  • Mr Negus told her that he wanted to do “before” and “after” photos of her, and that he wanted her to wear a blue blazer with nothing on underneath for the photo. Ms Lee stated that she was not willing to do this
  • That between May 2012 and June 2012 Mr Negus raised the subject of taking photos twice a week and that he told a sound engineer that her boob job was a “vast improvement”
  • In July 2012 Mr Negus came into the office and told her that the hot weather was making her feel “horny”. She ignored him but he repeated it.
  • In August 2012 Mr Negus referred to a male model as a “faggot” in front of her and another worker
  • That in March 2013 she found Mr Negus going through her holiday photos on her laptop
  • That Ms Lee confronted Mr Negus about his behaviour in April 2014. When Mr Negus returned from a trip to America later that month he told her that he was making her redundant

After being dismissed, Ms Lee made Employment Tribunal claims for sex discrimination, gender-related harassment, sexual harassment, and sexual orientation-related harassment, among other claims. Her Employment Tribunal claim took place earlier this year, with Mr Negus failing to show at the Employment Tribunal hearing. In Mr Lee’s absence Ms Lee was successful with her claims and was awarded £20,900 by the Employment Tribunal panel.

Ms Lee commented after the hearing: “The day to day lewd comments and innuendos became increasingly disturbing. My confidence was eroded and my well being affected which resulted in me dreading to go to work.”

Chris Hadrill, a specialist employment solicitor at Redmans, commented on the claim: “Mr Negus failed to turn up at the hearing and he has liquidated the company that employed Ms Lee. However, the claim was against Mr Negus as well as the company so he would have personal liability for the sum awarded by the Employment Tribunal.”