Apple has been found guilty of “unfairly” firing an employee at its London office for snapping secret photos of a female coworker and sharing them with colleagues, according to The Telegraph.
The employee in question is C.S., who served as a process analyst. The judge ruled in favor of C.S., who took his case to the Employment Tribunal after being dismissed on harassment grounds.
C.S. reportedly sneaked two photos of a colleague at Apple’s Battersea Power Station office without her knowing. He shared one in a group chat and sent the other to a male coworker who had a crush on her. Apple’s investigation labeled this as sexual harassment and against company rules, resulting in Mr. C. S. losing his job last year. However, Judge N Walker disagreed, calling the decision unfair.
The situation surfaced when a female colleague blew the whistle to management upon spotting one of the photos. As a result, both Mr. C. S. and his colleague were dismissed. Judge Walker slammed Apple’s murky harassment policies.
While recognizing the invasion of privacy caused by the photos, the judge noted cameras are everywhere nowadays. Despite Mr. C. S. admitting his wrongdoing, the judge still held him accountable.
The tribunal will later decide on damages, possibly trimming Mr. C. S.’s compensation by 10%, not the full 100% Apple wanted. Apple’s handling of harassment claims has drawn flak, prompting policy changes for a fairer workplace.