A long-serving Sainsbury’s store manager has been awarded almost £12,000 after an employment tribunal found she was treated unfairly after her boss called her out over a social media post celebrating male leaders at the company. Darren Cooper, who managed the supermarket’s Pontypridd branch in south Wales, told a tribunal that the omission made him feel “ostracized, humiliated and humiliated”, while he was already on sick leave due to concerns. According to the BBC, the panel ruled that he should receive £11,852 in compensation, including £7,500 for hurt feelings.
A post that aims to celebrate male leaders
The controversy centered on a post shared in November 2022 by Cooper’s regional director, Matt Hourihan, on LinkedIn and the company’s internal Yammer platform. In the message, Hourihan said he wanted to “celebrate male leaders” in Sainsbury’s stores in South Wales and England. He wrote:“You all do this while also leading busy lives outside of work, dealing with health, family and personal issues just like everyone else does, yet you all come to work every day, wear a name badge and provide support, guidance and leadership to the thousands of colleagues who work across our sector.” The post included photos of every regional store manager named and tagged, except Cooper. At that time, he was off work through July 2022 due to concerns.
decades in the supermarket
Cooper, who had worked for Sainsbury’s since 1993, told the tribunal that he effectively had “orange blood” in his veins after decades of service to the retailer. He became manager of the Pontypridd store near Cardiff in 2010 and oversaw the branch for more than a decade before going on sick leave. When he later saw the International Men’s Day post online, Cooper said the omission caused great distress. He told the tribunal that the incident had caused “incalculable harm and damage” to his health and described the “anger” of having to respond to friends and colleagues who had contacted him to ask if he had left the company.
Tribunal: Omission relating to his absence
The tribunal, held in Cardiff, concluded that the decision to sack Cooper was based on what his manager described as a “conscious thought process”. According to the Panel, this meant that the treatment was “adverse treatment by reason of something arising from the disability”. Employment judge Ryan Brace said the tribunal accepted Cooper’s evidence about how the incident affected him. “She gave evidence in the deposition that she felt ostracized, humiliated and insulted by the post and that she felt she was being excluded because of her absence.” The judge said. She said that as a senior store manager it was reasonable for her to feel insulted in the circumstances, especially since her boss could not stop her from mentioning the post when talking to her the day before it appeared online.
Manager’s explanation
Hourihan argued that Cooper had deleted WhatsApp and said he did not want to be contacted while on vacation, leading her to believe it would be inappropriate to include him in posts or ask for a photo. They also said they did not have any photos of Cooper available for use. The tribunal said it was sympathetic to Hourihan’s position, but ultimately concluded that the decision still resulted in adverse treatment linked to Cooper’s disability.
Legal claims and consequences
After several discussions about returning to work, Cooper was fired in June 2023. She later brought a case against Sainsbury’s, alleging disability discrimination, harassment, unfavorable treatment and unfair dismissal. The tribunal ruled in his favor on claims of disability-related harassment and adverse treatment arising from the disability, and awarded him compensation totaling £11,852. However, his claims of disability discrimination and unfair dismissal were rejected.