UK woman drags boss to court after mistaking ‘xx’ symbols in mail for kisses, loses case

In a bizarre case, a project manager at a UK-based IT company sued her boss for sexual harassment after misinterpreting symbols in an email such "xx", "yy", and "???" as codes for seeking sexual relations.

According to the BBC, Karina Gasparova, project manager at essDOCS's London office, claimed that her boss, Alexander Goulandris, sent offensive emails with terms like xx, yy,???? and renamed a work file with his initials 'ajg,' which is an abbreviation for "A Jumbo Genital."

Gasparova filed an employment tribunal complaint against the company, alleging sexual harassment, discrimination, and unjust dismissal. The panel at the London Central Court, however, dismissed her accusations, finding that her interpretation of events was "skewed," according to the BBC.

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During her presentation before the jury, Gasparova stated that Goulandris was attempting to chat her up while discussing work on calls. She further alleged that her supervisor implied a desire to "engage in sexual acts" in email communication.

When describing the content of the email, Gasparova claimed that "xx" stood for kisses, "yy" for sexual contact, and "????" was a question requesting "when she would be ready" to get intimate with him, the report added.

However, the tribunal found that it was a legitimate request for information and wasn't indicating anything sexual.

"She demonstrated a tendency to make extraordinary allegations without evidence and she contradicted herself in a way that could not be attributable to a fallible memory. Gasparova interpreted entirely innocent work-related conduct, some of it accidental, by Goulandris as having a sinister intent,"Employment Judge Emma Burns told Independent.

The panel eventually dismissed her claims and ordered her to pay£5,000 (US$6224.35) in compensation.

Bizarre incidents in corporates

In another bizarre case, asenior IT professional who has been on sick leave since 2008 sued his company for discrimination because he did not receive a raise, as per a Telegraph report.According to the report, Ian Clifford works at IBM but has been unwell for the past 15 years. According to his LinkedIn page, he has been 'medically retired' since 2013.

He claimed, however, that he was a victim of 'disability discrimination' since his income had not been increased in the 15 years he had been unable to work. Under an IBM health plan, the IT professional earns more than 54,000 pounds (US$67,300) each year and is assured to do so until the age of 65.

He brought IBM to an employment tribunal in February 2022, claiming disability discrimination.

However, his plans were dashed when an employment tribunal rejected his claims, with a judge telling him he had received a "very substantial benefit" and "favourable treatment."

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