A chef who has been accused of witness “collusion” to advance a sexual harassment claim against a colleague alleged to have thrust into him “as if he was riding a horse” has told a tribunal that he used ChatGPT to prepare his complaint.
Serhat Aksakal, a commis chef at the Odeon Bar and Restaurant on Harcourt Street in Dublin 2, was being cross-examined at the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) on a statutory complaint he has made under the Employment Equality Act 1998 against the firm.
The employment tribunal heard on Tuesday that Kivaway Ltd, the operator of the venue, sacked a worker in August on foot of Mr Aksakal’s complaint – but that Mr Aksakal and the colleague with whom he has been accused of collusion are still in their jobs.
Mr Aksakal said in evidence to the WRC that on 4th July this year, as he was taking something from a low fridge in a non-public area of the venue, a more senior employee, Mr Z “came against me and using his genital area, he tried to touch my body and he touched it”.
“After I defend myself, I cover my face, because he’s trying to touch my face ... I didn’t know what he was thinking, and after he tried to make some movements from his body, so it was humiliating and it affect[ed] my dignity,” he told the tribunal.
Asked by the adjudicator whether the man came from behind or the side, Mr Aksakal said: “He come from my back, my back side ... he used his genital area to touch my body, try some movements.”
He said the contact was against his “back side, his shoulder, and it comes front, because he’s taller and a little bit bigger, this side like this, the right shoulder,” he said.
“I said why he do this ... he didn’t say anything,” Mr Aksakal said, adding that there was no apology. The tribunal was told the senior employee was sacked over what happened the following month.
The respondent’s representative, Peter Ryan of human resources firm RA Consulting said: “It was horseplay, chair, I’m not sure it was really sexual harassment.”
The adjudicator, Penelope McGrath, said that what was described was “not acceptable” in the workplace.
“It sounds like pretty crass horseplay,” Ms McGrath said, adding that Mr Aksakal was “entitled to feel his dignity was affronted” by “thrusting and grinding of the groin area”.
She noted that a third worker’s witness statement had referred to Mr Z moving “as if he were riding Serhat like a horse, ‘yee haw, yee haw’, it was a joke”.
Mr Aksakal’s evidence was that he discussed the matter with the third employee before going to the general manager, Ashleen Minaguchi, to complain verbally on the day. He said he worked out the rest of that day’s shift in the kitchen with Mr Z and called in sick the following day. He complained in writing six days later, the tribunal heard.
He said that after making his initial complaint, the company continued to roster him to work alongside Mr Z – and he pointed to three dates in late July and early August when he submitted he and Mr Z were assigned together to a particular work area with nobody else present.
The employer’s position was that he was assigned to a different work area but Mr Aksakal said he had been required to work in the same room as Mr Z for portions of the relevant shifts.
“After my verbal and written complaint about this, I thought they’d put me on the roster with another [worker]. I thought they’d send me on holidays or something,” he said.
Cross-examining the complainant, Mr Ryan put it to him that when he met with the firm’s operations director Richard McDermott at an investigation meeting on 17th July, the complainant made “an accusation” about Mr Z that he “pushed his genitalia into your posterior”.
“I don’t know what you mean by ‘posterior’,” Mr Aksakal said.
“Backside. You alleged he pushed his genitalia into your posterior, okay, then you later changed your story, correct?”
“I added more details,” Mr Aksakal said.
“Different details,” Mr Ryan said.
“No, it wasn’t different. It was the back side, but which part of my back side,” Mr Aksakal said.
He went on to say that when he was bending to access the fridge, his shoulders were “in the same line” as his face.
“If it’s my bottom, I’ll say – the back side is here,” he said, placing his hand on his right shoulder as he spoke.
Mr Ryan said Mr McDermott would give evidence that the complainant alleged Mr Z “pushed his genitals into [the complainant’s] posterior”.
Mr Ryan also put it to the worker that both the complainant and the third employee had used similar phrases in witness statements submitted to the company investigation and suggested there had been “collusion”.
Both had referred to Mr Z making “inappropriate comments about another employee” and stating “despite complaining to the manager, no action was taken”, he submitted. Mr Aksakal said English was not his first language and that he had used an online translation tool to prepare his formal complaint.
“I’m worried about the similarity in terminology used. What did you put in to Google Translate,” Mr Ryan asked.
“No, no, ChatGPT,” Mr Aksakal said. “I wrote: ‘These things happened, the management doesn’t’ take any action, what should I write,” he added.
Mr Ryan asked what prompt the other employee had given ChatGPT.
“I don’t know if he used ChatGPT,” Mr Aksakal said.
The tribunal was told that Mr Aksakal filed a complaint to the WRC on 29th July this year, before the completion of the company’s investigation. Mr Z was dismissed the following month.
Adjudicator Penelope McGrath said the dispute was bigger than she thought and said she would adjourn the matter for a further hearing in January or February.
She said she would need to hear further evidence and submissions on a second statutory complaint by Mr Aksakal under the Payment of Wages Act, which concerns the distribution of tips at the venue.
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