A Sainsbury’s store manager, Darren Cooper, was awarded £12,000 in compensation after feeling excluded from a social media post celebrating male leaders on International Men’s Day. Cooper, who had been on leave for anxiety, expressed feeling humiliated and violated when he discovered he was not included in the post shared by his regional director. Cooper, who had worked at Sainsbury’s since 1993, had a strong connection to the company, referring to himself as having “orange blood” in reference to the brand’s color.
In 2010, Cooper became the manager of the Pontypridd store in South Wales but had to take sick leave due to anxiety in July 2022. The incident occurred when his line manager, Matt Hourihan, posted a tribute on Yammer and LinkedIn for International Men’s Day, praising male leaders in the team for their dedication and support. However, Cooper was notably absent from the photo of regional store managers named in the post, causing him additional distress and leading to questions from friends and colleagues about his status at the company.
Hourihan explained that he omitted Cooper from the post as he had deleted his WhatsApp and expressed a desire not to be contacted. Due to this, Hourihan believed it was best to exclude him. After ongoing discussions regarding Cooper’s return to work, he was eventually dismissed in June 2023. Cooper filed a lawsuit for disability discrimination, harassment, unfavourable treatment, and unfair dismissal.
The tribunal concluded that Hourihan’s deliberate decision to exclude Cooper from the post due to his absence amounted to unfavourable treatment linked to his disability. While the claims of disability discrimination and unfair dismissal were dismissed, the tribunal acknowledged that Cooper had been humiliated by the incident. As a result, Cooper won his claim for harassment related to disability and unfavourable treatment due to consequences of his disability. In a subsequent hearing, it was decided that Cooper would receive £11,852 in compensation, including £7,500 for injury to feelings.
