Court worker wins discrimination case against boss over 'cringy' comment

A court worker has won a discrimination claim against her male boss who got upset when she described his behaviour with a new female colleague as 'cringy'.

Sheri Balogun, who worked in administration at the city's magistrates, used the word - which means embarrassing - when complaining about manager Matthew O'Bryan.

O'Bryan falsely claimed that Ms Balogun accused him of being 'all over' the woman and demanded she be disciplined, a Manchester employment tribunal heard.

Now, Ms Balogun is now in line for compensation after successfully suing Justice Secretary Alex Chalk over O'Bryan's behaviour.

In early January 2021 it was heard that a new female member of the team was being given training by two male staff - one of which was Mr O'Bryan.

Ms Balogun said training should not have been provided face to face at this time due to the Covid-19 pandemic and restrictions in place.

The administrative officer went on to speak to another colleague about the training and described it as 'cringy'.

Cringy - or cringey - is defined by the Oxford dictionary as 'causing feelings of acute embarrassment or awkwardness'.

Ms Balogun said she felt this way because Covid guidelines were not being followed and she viewed it as a 'double standard'.

Days later, Mr O'Bryan met with Ms Balogun to have a private conversation in the court's post room.

He told the tribunal that the administrative officer had told him that he had been 'all over' the new starter which she had found 'cringy'. But, Ms Balogun denied saying the first comment and said this was 'nonsensical'.

Mr O'Bryan said this conversation upset him and had 'played on his mind' over the following few days so he contacted his manager and sent her a text telling her the comments 'technically classed as slander'.

The tribunal said there was no evidence to suggest the new starter had felt uncomfortable or raised a complaint about the training in relation to Mr O'Bryan and the other male colleague.

Ms Balogun was offered mediation in November 2021 and refused this before raising a grievance against Mr O'Bryan for discrimination.

In early January 2022, Mr O'Bryan then raised a grievance against Ms Balogun as she had made 'serious allegations' about his conduct.

He said their 'relationship broke down' and was now 'untenable', adding: 'I believe Sheri holds a personal grudge towards me and I am unsure of the reason why.'

The administrative officer sued for victimisation in light of the 'substantiated complaints raised about her' made after she raised her grievance.

The tribunal acknowledged the difference between the use of the word 'cringy' in comparison to 'all over' - the latter of which was found to be untrue.

EJ Allen said: '"Cringy" is a word which requires unpacking and further consideration. "All over" is a more serious and significant allegation.

'We would have found the additional words used as a lie to have been a detriment when compared to what it was the claimant had acknowledged had been said, even had we not found that the lie, in and of itself, had amounted to a detriment for [Ms Balogun].'

A remedy hearing to decide Ms Balogun's compensation will be held at a later date.