Woman Sues Employer Mistaking 'XX' Sent In Mail For Kisses, Loses In Court

Sexual harassment at the workplace is a concerning hurdle when it comes to encouraging women to corporate jobs. Recently, a woman sued her boss for sexual harassment as he reportedly sent her an offensive mail but it turned out to be a mistake.

It is important for companies to create a comfortable and non-discriminating environment for women to have conversations about sexual harassment. It is an encouraging step towards creating an inclusive space for women at work. However, identifying incidents of sexual harassment is tricky as it is not easy to read a person's intention. A similar incident happened with a woman who sued her boss because of an offensive mail in which she mistook the 'xx' he wrote as 'kisses'. Here's what happened.

Suggested Reading: 'She's Overthinking It': Why Does Society Dismiss Women's Sexual Harassment Allegations?

Woman Sues Boss Over Offensive Mail

A project manager named Karina Gasparova at a London-based IT company received an email from her boss, Alexander Goulandris in which he asked her to give missing information regarding an issue. In the mail, he asked her to complete a sentence which read, "The solution is currently used by xx Agris companies and yy Barge lines in corn cargoes in south-north flows in the ???? waterways". However, Gasparova found this mail offensive and sued her boss for unfair dismissal, discrimination and sexual harassment.

In her complaint, she claimed that the 'xx' in the mail actually meant 'kisses' while the 'yy' stood for 'sexual contact'. The '????' symbolised him asking her when she will be ready for sexual contact. Goulandris reportedly yelled at her previously and she reportedly claimed that it was because she had rejected his advances for a sexual relationship. The case was being judged by the London Central Court's employment tribunal which reportedly said that Gasparova had mistaken Goulandris' pure intentions for being wrong.

The court said that she made such huge claims without any solid evidence and based purely on her skewed perception. It said that Goulandris' work-related conversation was accidentally mistaken for sexual advances. In addition to declaring Goulandris innocent, the court asked Gasparova to pay an amount of 5,000 pounds to the company she worked in.