A woman who was called a "prostitute" and "fat" by her male boss has been awarded almost £19,000 in compensation.
A judge ruled Aishah Zaman was working in a "degrading" and "humiliating" environment during her time at Knightsbridge Furnishing in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire.
The 35-year-old's former boss, Shahzad Younas, subjected Aishah to regular sexual advances and derogatory statements, Glasgow Live reports.
Aishah, whose role was as office assistant and later manager, worked at Knightsbridge Furnishing from July 2018 to April 2020.
A court heard Mr Younas would regularly send inappropriate messages to Aishah, including calling her "Motee" (Punjabi for "fatty") and comments such as "you need to start gym", adding "Boss also wants slim smart girls in office".
He went on to tell her her DJing was the "work of prostitutes".
Mr Younas also sent messages to Aishah saying "I fancy you" and offered to buy her a Mercedes "so people get more jealous".
Aishah, who is a local DJ for Awaz FM, a local radio station serving Glasgow’s Asian community, one time pretended to be asleep so she could ignore Mr Younas' repeated requests to take her to the cinema at Glasgow's Silverburn.
The court heard Mr Younas also sent the claimant graphic images of female genitalia, and instructed her to unpack his clothes, including underwear, as it was "woman's work".
According to an employment tribunal report, the issue came to a head in April 2020 when she responded to instructions to rearrange his office, saying she was too busy.
The report reads: "With both hands he grabbed the claimant’s right arm. He pulled her from the packing area back into the small corridor. He told the claimant to 'get out'. He said to her that he shouldn’t have tolerated her. He said that he had been 'tolerating her for months.'
"They both returned to the main office. The claimant returned a number of keys to the second respondent. They continued to argue. The second respondent insulted her by implying that she was a prostitute.
He repeatedly shouted at her, 'I am going to f*** you'. The claimant understood him to mean that he would try to damage or destroy her life or reputation. The second respondent told her to leave immediately and not return."
Judge Russell Bradley stated that Mr Younas had "an outdated image of a subservient female". He added: "It hardly needs saying that to suggest that the claimant was a prostitute or did the work of a prostitute relates to her sex and is degrading, humiliating and offensive.
"Messages suggesting the desire for a relationship relate to her sex, were unwanted and were humiliating."
Mr Bradley awarded Aishah compensation of £18,984.
