A YOUNG male hairdressing trainee has been awarded $30,000 after a tribunal accepted he had been sexually harassed and victimised by senior males at a salon, including being told “hairdressers are like racehorses, they need a pat on the bum to go faster”.
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Arthur Kordas spent less than three months as a trainee at Aztec Hair and Beauty at Tuggerah but experienced sexual harassment and victimisation that had “a significant impact” on him, the NSW Civil and Administrative Tribunal found.
Mr Kordas was awarded $15,000 for sexual harassment by a senior salon employee and the salon manager between November, 2014 and February, 2015, and $15,000 for victimisation after he complained about the harassment.
Mr Kordas was sacked after he broke down at work on February 11, 2015. It followed two incidents in which senior employee Dean Eaton grabbed him around the waist from behind, once in front of customers, with both occasions witnessed by salon manager Sayeed Rony.
Mr Kordas later told Mr Rony “This sexual harassment has to stop”, but days later Mr Rony said he had “spoken with the team and I’m going to have to let you go”.
Mr Rony or a representative failed to appear at several tribunal hearing dates after earlier denying the sexual harassment and victimisation allegations.
The tribunal heard that Mr Kordas felt uncomfortable during his first week at the salon when Mr Rony lightly stroked his palm after giving him money to buy items for the salon.
A month after he started work as a trainee Mr Eaton told customers that he and Mr Kordas were “like a gay couple. We argue like a gay couple. We’re close”.
Mr Kordas said this made him feel embarrassed and humiliated, but he said nothing because he wanted to keep his job.
On another occasion Mr Eaton slapped Mr Kordas on the bottom in front of another employee and said: “You should slap me on the bum. I like being slapped on the bum.”
On another occasion Mr Eaton agreed that he got on with Mr Kordas “because you’re my bitch”.
In a discussion after Mr Rony accused Mr Kordas of “not smiling anymore”, the trainee angrily responded that he was being underpaid and harassed by three staff members, including Mr Eaton.
Later that day Mr Rony told Mr Kordas: “I'm sorry about what happened before. Hairdressers are like racehorses. They're all equal, but they need a pat on the bum to go faster.”
The tribunal accepted evidence from a psychologist and doctor that Mr Kordas had “done all the right things” to try to remain employed but was left “humiliated, distressed and out of employment” as a result of the sexual harassment and victimisation.
The company Ruba and Jo Pty Ltd, trading as Aztec Hair and Beauty, was ordered to pay Mr Kordas $30,000 within 21 days of the decision on Thursday. The figure included $10,000 for sexual harassment by Mr Eaton, $5000 for sexual harassment by Mr Rony and $15,000 for victimisation.
