University worker accused of harassment after forgetting colleague’s pronouns

A woman who was accused of harassment by the University of Manchester after misgendering a trans colleague has won an employment tribunal.

Karenne Sylvester, who worked as a learning technologist, was investigated by the university after she “persistently used the incorrect pronoun” when referring to a trans colleague. Ms Sylvester’s actions caused the colleague, who had transitioned from a woman to a man, to cry.

She was then transferred to a different team in the university, a move that she said “sabotaged” her career. Ms Sylvester was also told she could not have “physical interaction with the rest of her team”, and she needed to book a room when she worked at the university to make sure she did not come into contact with this particular colleague.

Ms Sylvester had been diagnosed with dyspraxia in 2011, a condition which she said made it difficult for her to remember the right pronouns to use. Dyspraxia is a developmental co-ordination disorder which can affect co-ordination skills, emotions, social skills and personal organisation. Ms Sylvester argued that the university was guilty of disability discrimination because of her “short-term memory problems”.

The employment tribunal found that managers investigating the harassment claim ignored the fact that her disability was likely to have been the reason for her misgendering her colleague. Judge Thompson, who heard the tribunal, said: “Her dyspraxia affected her short-term memory, meaning it took longer for her to consistently adopt the correct pronouns compared to a neurotypical person… We find that they did not conduct a fair or impartial investigation and then provided incorrect information to the appeal panel.”

The tribunal found that the appeals panel did “sloppy work”, and failed “basic due diligence”. The tribunal has awarded Ms Sylvester compensation which will be determined at a later date.