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Abercrombie & Fitch manager denies taunting disabled employee
26.06.09
A manager today denied "taunting and goading" a disabled employee at an Abercrombie & Fitch store in London.
Riam Dean has told an employment tribunal she "questioned her worth as a human being" after she was forced to work in the stockroom of the US clothing retailer because she did not fit its strict "look" policy.
The law student, who was born with her left forearm missing, said she was granted special permission to wear a cardigan to cover the join in her arm, but was later removed from the shop floor because the cardigan did not adhere to the dress code.
Maria Barbera, the store manager said to have taunted Miss Dean at the London flagship store on Saville Road, denied being aggressive towards the junior employee.
The Spanish manager, who has since been promoted to a more senior role at the Abercrombie & Fitch sister chain, Hollister, told the tribunal panel in London: "I was aware that she had a prosthetic arm, but did not know that she had been given approval to wear clothes that were not in accordance with the look policy.
"I explained that she could not work on the shop floor because of her cardigan and asked that she go and work in the stockroom. Riam did not seem upset by this."
However, later, the tribunal heard, the manager learned that Miss Dean had complained to a colleague about being "kicked off" the shop floor.
Ms Barbera confronted Miss Dean, telling her: "If you have a problem with me, you tell me."
Ms Barbera told the panel: "I was direct and straight to the point. I did not think my manner was aggressive or intimidating in any way.
"Rian told me she was upset because I did not give her the opportunity to take the cardigan off.
"I explained that I had wrongly assumed that she would not want to remove the cardigan."
Ms Barbera told Miss Dean that, if she took her cardigan off, she could go and work on the shop floor.
Miss Dean is then alleged to have replied: "It's okay, I'm used to being the victim."
Ms Barbera acknowledged that she was "upset and annoyed" by events, but claimed she did not make the link between Miss Dean's reluctance to take off her cardigan and the fact that she wore a prosthetic arm until later.
The tribunal heard that Ms Barbera's only equal opportunities training had been in the form of a computer programme completed on line.
Ms Dean started working at the store on June 11 last year. She worked five shifts before leaving on July 4 after the encounter with Ms Barbera.
Ms Dean, from Greenford, Middlesex, who has just finished her final exams at Queen Mary University of London, is seeking damages for disability discrimination.
The company disputes her version of events.
