KFC worker, 35, ‘forced out of job’ after she turned down date with colleague
A WOMAN working at KFC was forced out after turning down a date with a male colleague, an employment tribunal heard today.
Simona Simalyte, 35, is claiming sexual discrimination from the fast food chain after spurning the offer of romance.
She was asked on a date by a co-worker but turned him down to say: "I already have a boyfriend."
But the hearing was told an "atmosphere of hostility" simmered between the pair after she rejected him.
Miss Simalyte claimed the hostility was "persistent and amounted to harassment" against her.
An employment tribunal heard a row erupted in the restaurant in Newport, South Wales, 10 months after she turned down his date.
'ASSAULTED'
Police were called after she claimed she was assaulted by her co-worker.
Nigel Henry, representing Miss Simalyte, said nothing was done about the hostility between the pair.
He said Miss Simalyte claims she was told "so what if someone fancies you" - which she believes was direct discrimination because of her sex.
Mr Henry said: "We do know that nothing was done for nearly a year and we do now that a fight broke out on the shop floor.
He asked her on a date once. She told him 'I have a boyfriend'.
KFC lawyer
"We don't know what his account of it is. We don't know whether he was even interviewed by police."
Mr Henry said it would be "extraordinary" that the incident would have been on an "equal footing" because Miss Simalyte was a woman facing a man.
He said: "It is simply not how life works."
The tribunal, sitting in Cardiff Magistrates’ Court, heard no charges were made but the co-worker resigned that day.
RESIGNED
Miss Simalyte, of Newport, South Wales, left work on sick leave and later resigned.
Simon Hoyle, representing KFC, said Miss Simalyte and the co-worker "did not get on and they did not speak to each other."
He said: "He asked her on a date once. She told him 'I have a boyfriend.'
"There is no evidence that this approach was repeated.
"It started and ended with an invitation to go on a date and that is as far as it went."
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The tribunal heard the altercation took place on August 18, 2017.
Mr Hoyle added: "Up until the 18 August, when this incident took place, she was happy to go to work any day."
At a previous hearing, evidence was heard from witnesses suggesting that Miss Simalyte was the "aggressor."
Employment judge Richard Powell reserved judgement for a later date.
