Car saleswoman who claimed her boss referred to them as ‘Beauty and the Beast’ loses sex discrimination case

A veteran car salesman has filed a gender discrimination lawsuit, claiming his boss referred to the two as ‘Beauty and the Beast’.

The court heard Hanan Gendi complained that her manager Mark Brown compared her to Belle from the Disney classic and he to the Beast.

Miss Gendi, a general sales manager at a West London Volvo dealership, claimed Mr Brown made the comparison to the 1991 film during a meeting with other managers.

She also accused Mr Brown of ‘pressuring’ her to take part in a photo shoot and telling her she ‘looked better’ in front of staff.

Ms Gendi took her allegations of gender discrimination and harassment, and racial discrimination and harassment, to an employment tribunal.

However, he lost his case after the court found that his claims were not true.

Held at the Central London Employment Tribunal, the court heard Ms Gendi had worked as a general sales manager for Endeavor Automotive from October 2022.

He worked at Endeavor’s West London Volvo branch.

The chief executive claimed Mr Brown referred to her as a ‘beauty and himself as a beast’ at a chief executive meeting the month he started the job.

Ms Gendi also accused Mr Brown of “pressuring” her to attend a “public press event” several months later, in January 2023.

In the January 2023 issue of Auto Express magazine, Ms. Gendi talks about an electric SUV in a photo shoot.

He told the court Mr Brown told him he ‘looked better in front of staff’.

Ms Gendi said she ‘rejected the opportunity offered to her’.

The court said: ‘This is inconsistent with his stated case and written statement.

‘He said he didn’t like social media and while he was firm in his position, he felt he was being forced to do something he didn’t want to do.

‘It was clear that it was Mr Brown who forced him to do this.’

The court was told there were concerns about Ms Gendi’s performance and behavior at work, including her team’s “constant” missing targets.

He was also ‘unable or unwilling to price used cars’ and had ‘significant concerns’ about his ‘people management skills’.

Ms Gendi had a meeting with Mr Brown in March 2023 where her performance was discussed.

His manager accused him of being ‘very argumentative and confrontational’ from the start of the meeting, and the next day lodged a complaint alleging, among other allegations, that Mr Brown was a misogynist.

However, he neither mentioned the beauty and the beast incident nor the press incident. Ms Gendi told the court this was because ‘that was not her biggest concern at the time’.

His complaint was dismissed in April 2023, and he appealed that decision.

Ms Gendi was dismissed the same month for various reasons, including ‘deterioration of essential business relations’.

Labor Judge Bellamy Forde found the following regarding the claim of beauty and ugliness: ‘[Miss Gendi] He also admitted as evidence that he had no evidence to confirm this claim.

‘The court finds this allegation unproven on the balance of probabilities.

‘In other words, [Miss Gendi] The required standard of evidence was not met that Mr Brown referred to her as a beauty and himself as a monster.

‘Accordingly, it fails the stated evidentiary test [the Equality Act,] So we do not see it as a discriminatory claim.’

Judge Forde also said “probably so” [Miss Gendi] would be a willing and able participant in the media activity for which he or she is assigned’.

‘We also did not find the balance of probabilities that Mr Brown described. [Miss Gendi] “He did it the way he said,” the judge said.

‘Therefore, this claim is not proven.’

All of Ms. Gendi’s other claims were dismissed.