A SCOTTISH anti-abuse charity has been ordered to pay a former employee almost £75,000 in damages following a “calculated and premeditated” campaign of harassment by one of its bosses.
Millionaire Ali Khan founded the Glasgow-based Roshni organisation to help protect vulnerable adults and children within ethnic minority communities from abuse.
But a Glasgow employment tribunal judgment revealed Mr Khan, 56, left his victim suffering post-traumatic stress disorder.
Read more: Survivor abuse body's role attacked by experts who designed it
The report into the case said he attempted to turn her family against her and threatened to turn up at her mother’s house unannounced to reveal an alleged affair between them.
His victim had to have a priority emergency police telephone line installed in her house, the report said. It also revealed the charity did nothing to stop the abuse.
Glasgow-based Roshni was first registered as a charity in June 2002 and was set up with the aim of protecting vulnerable members of Scotland’s ethnic communities.
According to the tribunal’s report, the relationship between Mr Khan and the employee turned sour when she rejected the father of two’s advances.
Mr Khan reduced her working hours and gave her a final written warning, but he refused to let her leave her job with the charity.
Read more: Survivor abuse body's role attacked by experts who designed it
He then carried out a campaign of verbal and physical abuse against her, including making “sexually explicit remarks”.
Mr Khan also threatened to “post a video of them online”, disclose intimate details of her private life, and isolate her in the community to “damage her prospects”, the report said.
The millionaire also made threats of violence to her family and threatened to call her mother and tell her they were having an affair, the report continued.
A clinical psychologist who later treated the victim said she has been left with major depressive order and post-traumatic stress disorder.
Roshni has been ordered to carry out urgent re-training of its staff, with particular emphasis on “sexual and religious” harassment.
A spokeswoman for the charity said it was “very disappointed” by the outcome of the tribunal. She said: “Roshni does not agree with the ultimate conclusions of the tribunal and would have appealed against it, had it had the resources to do that.
“As well as dealing with the legal elements of this case we have had to consider cultural and wider relationship issues which have clearly had a wider impact than the employer/employee relationship.
Read more: Survivor abuse body's role attacked by experts who designed it
“In retrospect the case was not as well defended as it ought to have been. Two members of Roshni staff had a relationship which ultimately led to an employment tribunal.
“At no time were the trustees aware of this.”
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