Worker didn't fit store's 'look' policy

LONDON: A young woman with a prosthetic arm has won her case for wrongful dismissal against clothing retailer Abercrombie & Fitch because she did not fit its "look policy".

Riam Dean, a law student, was forced to work in the stockroom of the United States firm's London store.

Dean, 22, who was born with her left forearm missing, was first granted special permission to wear a cardigan to cover the join where her prosthetic limb was attached but was then told the cardigan did not adhere to the firm's dress code and was therefore told she could no longer work on the shop floor.

Dean started working at the company's flagship Savile Row store in June last year but worked only five shifts before resigning. A tribunal ruled she was wrongfully dismissed and unlawfully harassed but did not uphold her claim for disability discrimination.

Dean was awarded £7800 ($19,000) compensation for injury to her feelings, £1077 for loss of earnings and £136 damages for her wrongful dismissal.

The tribunal concluded she was unlawfully harassed for a reason which related to her disability and said Abercrombie & Fitch failed to comply with its duty to make reasonable adjustments, and that she was wrongfully dismissed.

The panel also accepted she felt humiliated and experienced a loss of confidence following the dispute.

- INDEPENDENT