IT recruiter Computer Futures has been forced to pay £5,700 in compensation for sexual harassment of an employee.

Business development consultant Avril Craig was awarded compensation by an employment tribunal after being harassed by company staff. Craig was told that she would ‘have to bend over’ when meeting male clients by her boss Jason D’Silva-Williams, and subjected to colourful language in the office, according to an article in the Scottish Sun. She was also harassed by her colleague Andrew Wotherspoon, who has now left the company. Wotherspoon’s departure was unrelated to this case, Computer Futures claimed.

The company denied that its environment was discriminatory. ‘Computer Futures doesn’t consider its culture to be sexist - this is a fair environment,’ said Sharon Sugars, European business development manager, one of Craig’s bosses. ‘I did not see any evidence of Avril being sexually harassed and she made no complaint while working there. There is a lot of colourful language in the office but it’s all light-hearted banter.’ The company has an equal balance of men and women across its 14 branches, she added.

But IT recruitment is ‘quite a laddish industry’, according to Ann Swain, chief executive of the Association of Technology Staffing Companies (ATSCo). ‘The key thing we need to recognise is that even though we are a sales-oriented industry, we have to behave professionally among ourselves,’ she said.

Craig was dismissed from the company last year ‘based on her performance’. The tribunal upheld that she was dismissed on these criteria alone, despite awarding her compensation.

Computer Futures, a founding member of ATSCo, abides by the Association’s code of conduct, said Swain. The trade association will not investigate this case ‘unless a formal complaint is made to us.’