Waitress who won sex harassment case against Instagram-friendly Soho restaurant after being told to wear make-up because she looked 'tired' at work wins £4,000 payout

A waitress has won a £4,000 payout after her boss at a high-end Soho restaurant told her to wear makeup because she looked 'tired.' 

Jahnayde Henry was working as a waitress at the swanky Chinese restaurant Tattu in 2022 when her 'draconian' manager told her she looked 'tired and unpleasant.'

A judge at an employment tribunal ruled that being instructed to apply cosmetics is a 'sex-specific' comment that would not ordinarily be made to a man and created a 'humiliating environment' for Ms Henry. 

The employment tribunal heard that Ms Henry's self-esteem was 'undermined' by the comment from the 'almost military' Joanna Huang - who was the deputy manager of Tattu.  

Ms Henry has now been awarded £4,703 in damages including £4,000 for 'injury to feelings'. 

The instagram friendly restaurant opened in 2022 and serves dishes including green pepper lobster for £79 and Japanese wagyu beef for £105.

Ms Henry accepted a job at Tattu in March 2022 and endured two weeks of training ahead of its grand opening. 

The panel heard the 'very strict' and 'draconian' Ms Huang was 'almost military' in her approach to running the restaurant, and was someone who 'likes discipline' and 'always wants 100 per cent'.

She was referred to as 'scrupulously fair' but would 'annoy you every day until you get better'.

On the first night of the restaurant's opening, Ms Huang told Ms Henry her voice sounded 'bland or boring' and that she should try to 'liven it up' while serving customers.

In the following shift she worked, Ms Henry was then 'criticised' about how effectively she was working and she would have to do better 'if she was going to make it as a server at Tattu'.

Ms Henry told the tribunal she was 'checked and criticised every three minutes' of her 12 hour shifts - although the tribunal ruled this was a 'figure of speech' rather than a literal description of the number of times she was admonished.

However, the panel found Ms Huang would have still 'frequently' checked on Ms Henry in order to 'maintain high standards' she demanded of her staff.

At her next shift, the tribunal heard that Ms Huang told Ms Henry she looked 'tired and unpresentable' and  that she 'should wear make-up'.

Although Ms Huang denied this, the panel found she had made such a comment, after hearing 'observations about make-up were not unknown amongst [Tattu]'s managers.'

After just five shifts, Ms Henry resigned from her role in April 2022, claiming she had been left in tears after being 'bullied' by a manager at work.

She wrote: 'I honestly just think that at this time Tattu is not a place that I want to continue working.'.

Ms Henry - who is black - then unsuccessfully sued the restaurant for race discrimination and harassment.

However, her claim of sex harassment regarding the makeup comment was upheld.

Employment Judge Andrew Glennie said: 'Having found that Ms Huang made the comment alleged by [Ms Henry], we accepted that this was unwanted by her,' he said.

'We then considered whether this amounted to conduct related to sex.

'We concluded that saying that an individual looked 'tired and unpresentable' was not related to sex, as that could equally be said to a man.

'In the Tribunal's judgement, saying that next time, the individual should wear some make-up, is a sex-specific comment, in that (although it is not unknown for men to wear make-up) it is not a comment that would ordinarily be made to a man.

'As to its effect, we found that [Ms Henry] perceived the comment as creating a humiliating environment for her, in that it meant that she should try to 'improve' her appearance with the use of make-up.

'We also found that it was reasonable that the comment had this effect: it would tend to undermine her self-esteem.'

According to its website Tattu - which has branches in Manchester and Birmingham - offers customers an 'elevated dining experience' in 'opulent surroundings'.

'Tattu London has been designed with the utmost respect for superb craftsmanship and in pursuit of providing the finest experiential dining.

'Classic artistry is reunited with cutting edge techniques, giving way to a venue that is equally as elegant as it is elevated.'