Farting’s lawyer loses a harassment lawsuit against a colleague who asked him to stop

A senior British lawyer who filed a lawsuit against the Crown Prosecution Service of England and Wales after a colleague asked him to stop farting in the room they worked together has lost his case.

Tariq Muhammad, who has filed a lawsuit for harassment, told the labor court that recurrent flatulence was caused by medication for a heart condition. He said his colleague Paul McGorry’s comment was embarrassing and in violation of his dignity – but the panel found it reasonable for McGorrie to ask him to stop.

The attorney general, who suffered a heart attack in 2014, also alleged that he was discriminated against due to his disability and made a number of other allegations against his colleagues and superiors.

There were frequent incidents of flatulence in the quiet room. On one occasion, Mr. McGorry asked, « Should you do that, Tariq? »

He claimed that they threw his water bottles, told him to work one day a week about 100 kilometers and didn’t pay for the lawyer’s testimony when he was on sick leave.

The committee, chaired by Employment Judge Emma Hawksworth, also dismissed allegations of disability discrimination, in Reading, near London.

The prosecution accepted that it treats Muhammad unfairly by not allowing him to work from home for two days a week and leave work at 4 pm to help him manage his case, removing him from court duties, which means that he will receive compensation.

His heart condition meant he had to take daily medications whose side effects resulted in him staying home for several hours after taking them. In 2016, he began to share an office with McGorrie, where the problem of persistent flatulence was raised.

The court was told that « Mr. McGorry was aware that the plaintiff had had a heart attack, but was unaware of the medications the plaintiff was taking or that flatulence was a side effect of the medication. » ‘There were frequent incidents of flatulence in the quiet room. On one occasion, Mr. McGorry asked, ‘Should you do that, Tariq?’

Muhammad said it was because of his treatment and that when asked if he could go out to do it, he said he couldn’t.

The court commented that it was not unreasonable to ask Muhammad to stop gassing « when there were frequent incidents of flatulence in a small office. »

In February 2016, he was transferred to another team which meant he did not have to attend court and was required to work one day a week in Brighton, more than an hour’s drive from Guilford, where he normally resides.

He submitted a grievance, concluding that the Public Prosecution should have paid him allowances, and he was taken out on sick leave. His employment was terminated in April 2020.

The court rejected Muhammad’s allegations of disability-related harassment and abuse. Many accidents that [he] A complaint unrelated to his disability … or caused or exacerbated by it [him] Committee said.

On flatulence, the court commented: “Mr McGurry questions to [Mr Mohammed] They did not ask for the purpose of infringement [his] dignity or the creation of such an environment. It was not an unreasonable question to ask, when there were frequent incidents of flatulence in a small office.” — Guardian