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A Sydney jeweler and his business have been ordered to pay a record $268,000 in damages after a judge found he sexually harassed a female employee.
Fiona Taylor, 35, claimed she was harassed by Grew & Co owner Simon Grew, 45, for just under two years, working for the store on Kent St in Sydney’s CBD.
Ms Taylor started working for the prestigious jeweler in January 2018 but did not return to the office after August 2020 when she lodged a complaint with the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC).
A recent judgment by Federal Court Justice Anna Katzmann found Mr Grew harassed Ms Taylor when he “slapped her on the butt” in 2019 and when he twice admitted his feelings for her in 2020.
Ms Taylor alleged that Mr Grew stood in the doorway of the store and, as he walked past him, slapped her on the buttocks on one occasion.
“She felt “extremely uncomfortable”, laughed “in shock” and found the incident “quite upsetting”, Judge Katzmann said in her findings.
Fiona Taylor, 35, claimed she was harassed by Grew & Co owner Simon Grew (above), 45, for just under two years while she worked for the company in the CBD. Sydney.
Ms Taylor said she did not complain at the time because there were no human resources and she should have complained to Mr Grew himself.
Mr Grew denied the allegation and said that as she turned away from him his hand accidentally brushed the back of her dress, to which he apologized.
Judge Katzmann also found Mr Grew showered Ms Taylor with expensive gifts in late 2018 – around the time he separated from his wife.
Although he also gave gifts to other members of staff, it was not to the extent that he gave Ms Taylor.
She claimed he gave her 19 unsolicited and unwelcome gifts. Mr Grew said only some gifts may have been unsolicited.
The gifts included silver and gold jewelry, a Michael Kors bomber jacket, a $200 Mecca voucher, a Chanel purse and $2,000 in cash, which Mr Crew said was a Christmas bonus anticipated.
“I was really starting to feel anxious. I felt a little trapped. I didn’t know how – well, really, what to do,” Ms Taylor said.
Mr Grew had texted a colleague in 2019 saying it was ‘so easy to travel with Ms Taylor’, a judgment hears
Pictured is another text which Mr Grew sent to Ms Taylor and described in the judgment.
“He always presented it in a way where I couldn’t say no, otherwise it would be quite rude to say no.
“So, yeah, I felt like I was in a really difficult position, that I had to appease my boss to keep my job.”
In January 2020, Mr Grew told Ms Taylor he had romantic feelings for her, even though she was in a relationship.
The court heard evidence that Mr Grew said he could no longer hold his feelings “inside” and said Ms Taylor was “the most beautiful woman I have ever seen”.
“We get along so well, we like the same things. My children don’t need a mother, they need a friend. We can run the business together or if you want to start your own business, that’s something I can help you with,” he said.
Judge Katzmann said Ms Taylor was “distraught by the revelation”.
“Ms. Taylor made it clear to him that she was not interested in a romantic relationship with him,” Judge Katzmann said.
The next month, Ms. Taylor texted her boss saying they needed to set boundaries before a work trip they were taking to Arizona.
Mr Grew also said Ms Taylor was ‘perfect’ in another post
In June of that year, Mr Grew was driving Ms Taylor home when he confessed his feelings for her a second time.
“During the conversation, Mr. Grew told her he would ‘fight a tiger’ for her,” the findings state.
Ms Taylor complained that Mr Grew had sexually harassed her in August 2020. In September she lodged a complaint with the Human Rights Commission.
Mr. Grew admitted that although he was attracted to Ms. Taylor, he denied that his conduct was sexual in nature or that he made sexual advances toward her.
Judge Katzmann also found that between October and December 2019, Mr Grew “made unsolicited statements” to Ms Taylor.
These included “you have a very nice body”, “you have a beautiful body” and “you have bedroom eyes”.
Ms. Taylor was awarded $140,000 for sexual harassment and $40,000 for victimization.
She was also awarded for past and future economic loss and loss of superannuation.
This is the highest amount of damages awarded in a sexual harassment case under the Sex Discrimination Act.
Judge Katzmann found that she has since become socially withdrawn and has problems sleeping.