Sacked worker: 'I've struggled to find a job' (From Knutsford Guardian)

Sacked worker: 'I've struggled to find a job'

8:00pm Wednesday 17th October 2012 in News By James Wilson

A WOMAN who has won a sexual harassment claim against her former boss has said she has been unable to get a job after being fired.

Samantha Allen told the Guardian that her tribunal case against Christopher Barral – the owner of failed care firm Abacus Care (Cheshire) – has led to future bosses being put off from employing her.

Mr Barral was found guilty of sexually harassing Ms Allen while she was employed as a therapist for Abacus Care (Cheshire) in 2011.

“When I apply for jobs, I say I can’t get a reference and then I say I was fired and they just don’t want to know,” she said.

“Nobody wants to think about employing a person who has taken their boss to an employment tribunal and I can’t get a job as a result.

“I’ve been really lucky that my mum has been able to give me some money, as I was nearly thrown out of my house with my four-year-old.

“The hardest thing for me is that he kept saying he was the victim in all this. He emailed the court and said it was too hard for him to attend.”

But Samantha – who has had to pay out £8,000 just to take the action she has – said she was anxious about when she was going to be paid by Barral.

“For me though, I want to make sure that people know about this so he doesn’t try and do it again,” she said.