Real estate mogul ‘deliberately’ coughed in disabled employee’s face during corona virus pandemic. An employment judge has condemned Kevin Davies’ “gross behaviour” as the former staff member was awarded more than £26,000 in compensation.
David Kevin Lewis Davies, better known as Kevin Davies, owns Cawdor Cars, a dealership with six branches in Ceredigion and Carmarthenshire in Wales. The business, which is based in Newcastle Emlyn, also operates a property rental division called Datblygau Davies Developments, where the employee worked as a property manager.
Kevin Davies’ property portfolio includes high-end Welsh hotels and various housing projects. The former employee, who wished to remain anonymous, sued Cawdor Cars and Mr Davies, 62, in a tribunal which found she had suffered disability discrimination and constructive unfair dismissal.
She said WalesOnline Her former boss’s “horrible” conduct in 2020 left her “nervous” and unable to trust anyone, adding: “He knew about my health. He knew I had no immune protection because of the medication I had to take, and he deliberately coughed in my face. I was shaking. I’m not a silly, fluffy person – I’ve had to put up with a lot in my life – but it really affected me.”
Social Justice Tobias Vincent Ryan said some staff felt Mr Davies’ management style was “interfering” and “brusque”, often involving “foul language”. The court found he “often used insulting language, calling anyone who irritated him or caused him difficulty, particularly tenants, a ‘bitch’ and a ‘bastard'”.
The claimant, who worked for Cawdor Cars between 2017 and 2020, suffers from psoriatic arthritis and was particularly vulnerable during the pandemic due to her autoimmune condition. She earned £11 an hour and was one of 70 employees at the company. Although she found it “difficult” to work with Mr Davies – and believes his predecessor left because of his behaviour – she felt “ready and able to do so” until the events of 17 March 2020, Judge Ryan said.
At the time, the government was recommending social distancing due to Covid. The woman had asked colleagues to keep a safe distance from her because of her disability. On that day, Mr Davies was passing her in a corridor when he “deliberately and loudly coughed in her direction, remarking that she was ridiculous”, said Mr Justice Ryan, who found that his intention was to “ridicule and intimidate” the woman. The judge described his “rude behaviour” as particularly “appalling” given that it was aimed at a vulnerable person who had requested respectful social distancing.
The court found that members of Cawdor Cars’ management team had heard the loud coughing and were aware of the incident at the time. Some witnesses from the company were “defensive and not entirely forthcoming, particularly with unconvincing denials”, and one was seen “smiling or laughing” during his testimony, despite the complainant’s “obvious distress”, Mr Justice Ryan said.
The court heard the woman complained “vehemently” about the incident and resigned less than three months later. The previous year, Mr Davies had praised her for her “good command” of her job and spoken of her high confidence in her, but the court found the firm had “engineered her exit” in 2020. Mr Justice Ryan said: “She resigned at least in part because she was being victimised; that was a major and significant factor in her decision. She considered that she was being pushed out in part because of her complaints. She was right.”
The judge ordered the woman to receive compensation of £26,438.84. This included paying Cawdor Cars £18,000 in damages for bodily harm, while the company and its owner Mr Davies were to pay her a total of £3,841.94 for unfair dismissal and £4,596.90 in interest accrued since the coughing incident. Cawdor Cars has been contacted for comment.