Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Evening Standard
Evening Standard
National
William Mata

Woman wins £7,500 at employment tribunal after complaining British Library was too noisy to work in

The British Library is the second largest collection of books in the world - (Naked Energy)

A woman who claimed the British Library was too noisy to work in has reportedly won £7,500 in an employment tribunal.

Lidia Kogut sued the King’s Cross institution for “failing to make reasonable adjustments” and won her case this week, according to the Daily Mail.

The tribunal heard that the library, her employer, failed to provide her with a quieter workstation or offer an alternative role.

The ruling concludes a long-running case, which the British Library had attempted to have dismissed in 2023.

Acccording to reports, she won £1,350.20 for a reduction in salary and £6,204.38 in compensation. It was reported she had logged other claims but these were dismissed.

Employment judge Richard Nicolle said: “Ms Kogut’s claim that the [British Library] failed to make a reasonable adjustment to provide her with a quiet location within its premises succeeds in accordance with... the Equality Act.

“Or, alternatively, that it failed to move her to a quiet office temporarily until a permanent suitable alternative role was identified.”

The British Library has not commented.

The national library of the United Kingdom is home to the second largest collection of books, periodicals, journals and sound recordings in the world

The Euston Road institution houses every book printed in Britain and a large number of publications from overseas. As well as 14 million books, it also has millions of sound recordings and audio scores.

Last year the library was the victim of a ransomware attack.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.