A Welsh boss has been forced to pay a former employee more than £26,000 (C$46,100) for deliberately coughing into her face during the COVID-19 pandemic.
A U.K. judge ruled Kevin Davies, the owner of the vehicle dealer Cawdor Cars in Newcastle Emlyn, set out to “ridicule and intimidate” a female employee after she asked her co-workers to social distance in the office.
The unnamed woman expressed her health concerns to her colleagues, namely over her psoriatic arthritis and autoimmune condition diagnoses, only days before a lockdown was initiated in the U.K. in March 2020. At the time, social distancing was already recommended by the U.K. government.
Now, a tribunal has decided Davies intentionally mocked the woman when he “coughed in her direction deliberately and loudly, commenting that she was being ridiculous,” the BBC reported.
Employment judge Tobias Vincent Ryan condemned Davies’ “gross behaviour” before assigning the fine.
The woman resigned from her position about three months after the coughing incident.
Ryan said she quit “at least in part because she was victimised” by Davies.
“This was a major and significant factor in her decision,” he said. “She felt that she was being eased out partly because of her complaints. She was correct.”
Davies is the father of popular British & Irish Lions rugby player Gareth Davies. His business ventures extend beyond owning multiple car dealerships and include property rentals for several hotels and housing developments. The ex-worker was employed as a property manager.
The total fine paid to the woman reached nearly £26,440 (C$46,880), though Cawdor Cars was made to contribute £18,000 (C$31,920) of the amount. The payment was made on the grounds of unfair dismissal and damages for injury to feelings, with an added portion for interest.
The woman worked for Davies from 2017 to 2020 and was paid £11 (C$19.50) an hour, the tribunal claimed.
After the tribunal hearing, she said Davies’ “horrendous” behaviour made her a “nervous wreck.” She said Davies knew of her medical conditions and that she “had no immune protection because of the medication I had to take.”
“I was shaking,” she said of the cough in her face. “I’m not a silly, fluffy person – I’ve had to put up with a lot in my life – but it really got me.”