Sainsbury's Manager Awarded £11,852 After Being Excluded from International Men's Day Post
A Sainsbury's manager who sued his employer for disability discrimination after being omitted from a social media post celebrating International Men's Day has been awarded £11,852 in compensation. Darren Cooper, who had been on extended sick leave for anxiety, claimed he felt "humiliated" and "violated" when his regional director posted on LinkedIn without including him.
Long-Serving Employee Felt Excluded During Health Struggles
Mr Cooper, who started working for Sainsbury's in 1993 as a part-time school employee and later became manager of the Pontypridd store in South Wales, had been off work since June 2022 due to anxiety. On November 19, 2022, Regional Director Matt Hourihan posted on both Yammer (Sainsbury's internal platform) and LinkedIn to celebrate International Men's Day, thanking male managers who "show up for work each day, put on a name badge, and provide leadership for thousands of colleagues."
The post included photographs and tags for each store manager in the region except Mr Cooper. When his wife informed him about the post, Mr Cooper told the Cardiff employment tribunal it caused "untold further damage" to his health and created "angst" as friends, colleagues, and LinkedIn connections questioned whether he had left Sainsbury's.
Tribunal Finds Discrimination and Awards Compensation
Employment Judge Rhian Brace ruled that failing to include Mr Cooper in the LinkedIn post constituted "unwanted conduct" and that his "exclusion from the posts was related to his disability." The tribunal upheld his harassment and unfavourable treatment claims related to the social media post.
Mr Cooper was awarded £7,500 compensation for injury to feelings, £2,500 for personal injury, and £1,852.08 in interest. Judge Brace noted that Mr Cooper had not received any apology and that the post remained online for 42 days despite concerns being raised.
Employer's Defense and Subsequent Dismissal
Mr Hourihan explained to the tribunal that he had not included Mr Cooper because the store manager had deleted his WhatsApp account and requested not to be contacted while recovering. He believed tagging Mr Cooper would have resulted in hundreds of alerts that would be counterproductive to his recovery. Additionally, Mr Hourihan did not have a photograph of Mr Cooper and considered it inappropriate to request one during his sick leave.
Following the incident, Mr Cooper submitted a complaint containing 48 separate concerns against his boss. An investigator partially upheld one concern related to the LinkedIn post but determined it did not breach Sainsbury's Social Media Policy and any impact on Mr Cooper was unintended. After Mr Cooper's appeal was dismissed and following lengthy discussions about his return to work, he was dismissed in June 2023.
Judgment Highlights Workplace Sensitivity Issues
In her ruling, Judge Brace acknowledged Mr Hourihan's position but stated, "We nonetheless accepted [Mr Cooper's] evidence that having people contact him caused him to feel excluded. It was reasonable for [Mr Cooper], as a senior Store Manager, in those circumstances for him to feel humiliated."
The judge emphasized that Mr Cooper was a "valued and long serving store manager at Sainsbury's" who had "Orange Blood"—referring to his lifelong commitment to the company since his school days. The case highlights the importance of workplace sensitivity regarding employees with health conditions and the potential consequences of social media exclusions in professional contexts.
