A WOMAN has been awarded more than £13,000 in damages after claiming that her manager threatened to rape her and suggested that she have sex with clients.
Clare Slater, aged 29, who was a recruitment executive for BCL Northwest on Wilderspool Causeway, claimed that sales manager Jason Dunford threatened her with rape after she walked out of her job.
But the company is standing by Dunford and is planning to contest the settlement.
Ms Slater, who worked at the company for three months, told a Liverpool tribunal that Dunford had taken her for a private meeting and told her that she needed to focus more on her job.
She said that he then went on to use obscene language, describing what lengths she should go to to succeed with clients.
She said: "He took me into a windowless office for what I thought would be a general introductory meeting.
"He was really aggressive and in my face and said I needed to change my social circle to get sales.
"He was really intimidating and I took it to mean that he expected me to sleep with clients."
Ms Slater went on to resign on February 4 last year, three days after she walked out of the company. She claimed that Dunford continued to harass her after she left and that he told a sales meeting that he would ruin her career.
She said: "Jason Dunford said he would rape my career and then he would rape me.
"The threat was very real and it terrified me to think that he could come after me and attack me. He said he would come after me, pull my pants down and spank me."
But Dunford told the hearing: "I would not use that language in front of a colleague I had known a long time, never mind someone I had just met."
Ms Slater's claims for sexual harassment, victimisation and constructive dismissal were all upheld with compensation payments of £9,000 for hurt feelings, £3,000 for aggravated damages and £1,220 for lost earnings.
But Jonathan Hughes, BCL Northwest managing director, said that the company would be standing by Dunford and would be contesting the settlement.
He said: "He has an 11-year exemplary record managing male and female staff without a single complaint.
"He is absolutely staying here without question."
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