Senior RAF officer told to ‘grow a pair’ receives compensation – The Irish News

A senior female Royal Air Force officer was awarded compensation of up to £2,000 after male colleagues told her to “grow a pair”, a High Court judge has revealed.

Squadron Leader Anne Rubéry served in the RAF for more than 30 years and in 2018 filed a complaint alleging harassment and discrimination.

The details were revealed after she attempted to bring an employment tribunal claim against the MoD, which the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) ruled was beyond its jurisdiction.

The EAT judgment, published on Monday, reiterated Ms Rubéry’s initial complaint that she had been mistreated, impaired, unsupported and mismanaged in her workplace by her chain of command.

He alleged that RAF officers did this “by excluding me from the opportunity to develop professionally by failing to support or inform me of any issues and by offering me a path forward to time to rectify this.

“By not assuming any management of social assistance despite IVF treatment and a permanent medical commission.

“As informed during an OJAR (Officer Joint Assessment Report) debriefing, I was good enough to be a Wg Cdr “Admin” (wing commander), but not a Wg Cdr anymore ” wide “.

“By sending an email containing a derogatory depiction of a woman.”

She alleged that a wing commander, named only as Bradley, used discriminatory and sexist language.

Members of his line management were named as Group Captain Flynn, Wing Commander Bedford and Wing Commander Middleton, in Judge Stacey’s judgment.

In response to her complaint, Mr Bradley and Wing Commander Ward said Ms Rubery was “bold” and should “grow a pair”, it says.

Their comments were added to the original complaint as new instances of gender discrimination and harm.

However, all of his allegations of gender discrimination, harassment, dishonest and biased behavior were dismissed by letter dated October 30, 2020.

It was found that her colleagues had treated her with compassion and care when she underwent IVF, and that the terms “brave” and “growing a pair” were used in reference to both sexes and did not meet the threshold of intimidation.

In December 2020, Ms Rubéry appealed the findings, but this was dismissed on all grounds other than “undue delay” in the proceedings which amounted to maladministration.

She then filed a complaint with the armed forces ombudsman in June 2021.

The Military Complaints Ombudsman for the Armed Forces (SCOAF) has criticized the appeals body for failing to recognize that a “purportedly humorous email” titled “Texas Chilli Cook Off” was “totally inappropriate… objectifies the woman and is particularly offensive to women.”

The judgment states that this is “likely the email denounced as a ‘derogatory depiction of a woman’ in the original complaint about the service.”

In December 2021, SCOAF found an “overly masculine culture within the unit which appeared to show contempt for the female workforce”, according to the High Court judgment.

The ombudsman said: “I do not consider that the spirit of the philosophy, core values ​​and standards of the RAF were respected when the AB (appeal body) decided that the expressions or use of Language was not considered objectively offensive, sexist or gender biased. -related.

“The fact that no one (else) was apparently offended or challenged by the use of this language is not an excuse for its use,” she added.

SCOAF recommended a “moderate consolation payment” of £1,000 to £2,000 and an apology.

According to the High Court judgment, SCOAF “considered that there were wider lessons to be learned from the findings of its report and the RAF must reconsider how staff are currently refreshed in relation to inclusion and diversity , equal opportunities and training in fundamental values”.