Tuesday March 21, 2023
Nura Aabe (pictured) was the sole female director of Bristol-based Happy Care when Axmed Carab called to inquire if she was "in her bedroom," according to an employment tribunal.
London (HOL) - A female director of the Bristol-based home service care provider Happy Care, Nura Aabe, has won a £73,474.70 payout after successfully suing the company, along with its two male directors, Axmed Carab and Ahmed Ibrahim. The employment tribunal heard that Mrs. Aabe, who was the only female director, had been subject to harassment and discrimination by her male bosses. They had called her a "stupid b****" and told her to "obey" after she refused to hug and kiss Mr. Carab, her manager.
On June 4, 2020, Mr. Carab called Mrs. Aabe, who holds a British Empire Medal for services to people with autism, and asked if she was in her bedroom. When she attempted to hang up, he wondered why she was running away from him and said they needed to meet alone. The following night, he tried to contact her at 9:30 pm, but she did not respond until the next day. On June 6, Mr. Carab insisted on speaking to her during a meeting break, closed the door behind them, and stood very close to her. He told her that he had stayed up until 3 am waiting for her call and asked why they could not go out together. Mrs. Aabe refused to go out alone with him, which made him upset, and he stormed out of the room.
In another meeting, Mr. Carab dismissed Mrs. Aabe's suggestions and told the other directors not to listen to her. Later, in a conversation with the finance manager, Mr. Ibrahim, she was told to spend more private time with Mr. Carab, including hugging and kissing him. Mr. Ibrahim called her "stupid" and a "b****" and told her she should learn to obey.
According to testimony given at the tribunal, Finance Manager Ahmed Ibrahim (pictured) urged Mrs. Aabe to "spend more private time" with Mr. Carab.
The tribunal found that the two bosses took "revenge" against Mrs. Aabe by firing her in an "ill-thought-out, cunning plan" after she threatened to report them to the police. The tribunal held in Bristol ruled that Mrs. Aabe was unfairly dismissed, sexually harassed, and discriminated against due to her sex and religion.
Employment Judge Colm O'Rourke called the behaviour of the two men "egregiously abhorrent" and said Mrs. Aabe was a director in name only, and expected to obey them. He stated that Mr. Carab treated Mrs. Aabe less favourably due to her rejecting his advances and that the allegations of homophobia against her were spurious, concocted, and malicious.