£100,000 for woman told to wipe loo seat

A HIGH-FLYING businesswoman whose career ended when she exposed a 'boys' club culture' at the worldfamous Oracle Corporation was awarded almost £100,000 today.

Karen Carlucci had sued the IT giant for sexual discrimination and unfair dismissal and told an employment tribunal how sexist behaviour in the office had upset her. She was forced to resign after she returned from maternity leave and was given a job well below her abilities.

Ms Carlucci, 38, described by staff as an 'exceptional employee', had been paid commission of £113,000 in 2003 on top of her salary of £62,500.

She told the tribunal in Reading that her manager, Steve Irwin, described himself as a 'babe magnet' and said his team had to be 'young, virile, with plenty of debts, holidays and flash cars'. She also told how her former boss Adrian Wootton sent her a sexist e-mail and had an 'inappropriate' girlie calendar on his desk.

Asked at the hearing whether he thought the calendar was sexually discriminatory, Mr Wootton replied: 'I am struggling.' The regional director of commercial and industrial sales said he failed to see how the images were any different from those used in Marks & Spencer lingerie advertisements.

Ms Carlucci told the tribunal of an email Mr Wootton circulated to her and several other colleagues, entitled 'Rules' with the statements: 'Learn to wipe the toilet seat. You are a big girl. If it's up put it down. We need it up, you need it down. You don't hear us bitching about you leaving it down. Let us ogle. We are going to look anyway. It's genetic.'

Asked whether this was an appropriate e-mail to circulate, Mr Wootton replied: 'In the context this was sent, yes. In other contexts, no.' Ms Carlucci's claims of sex discrimination arose during her maternity leave when she was told she had been overpaid due to an accounting error.

The error came to light after Mr Wootton expressed outrage after seeing Ms Carlucci's maternity pay totalled £130,000. When she confronted Mr Wootton about it, he said: 'If I were pregnant I would get nothing because I am a man and times are tough right now at Oracle and you are still . . . earning more than me.'

On telling her manager she would have to take the matter further, he replied: 'Is that how you want to be remembered?' Although the tribunal found that Ms Carlucci was not owed the extra money due to the accounting error, it was recognised that it was her case that highlighted it.

Tribunal chairman Richard Byrne awarded Ms Carlucci a total of £98,206 compensation for sex discrimination, injury to her feelings and loss of private health cover.

Costs were awarded to both parties and were expected to be settled at a county court hearing. The Oracle Corporation was understood to be lodging an appeal.