Eighteen-year-old wins £3,500 following successful sex discrimination claim

A teenage waitress recently won a high-profile sex discrimination case after being advised by a manager to choose an outfit to be more “easy on the eye” for customers.

Eighteen-year-old Erin Sandilands had taken exception to the suggestion to wear a skirt and make-up for her shifts at Cecchini's Bistro, near Glasgow.

But after objecting to the request, she received a call to say that she wouldn’t be required to do any more shifts at the eatery.

She subsequently took the company to an Employment Tribunal and was awarded £3,500 after a Judge agreed she had been discriminated against.

Erin told BBC’s Newsbeat she had been working at the restaurant for a little over a fortnight when she was taken to one side and advised to make changes to her appearance. She said she had felt “humiliated” by the experience.

“I wore trousers out of practicality,” said the teenager. “I wore minimal make-up, with my hair up - but I looked presentable.

“For [the manager] to then turn around and tell me he would rather I wore a skirt because that was more feminine, and he would rather I wore more make-up and my hair up because it looks better, I argued back that I don't really feel that I should have to.”

The bistro’s owner, Anthony Cecchini, told his local newspaper that the claims are "untrue" and that the business plans to appeal.

For more information on our employment law services or advice on Employment Tribunals please visit or contact Richard Woodman, Gemma Ospedale, David Israel or Caroline Doran Millett.