Office Christmas parties are usually pretty simple. People show up, someone gives a speech, someone drinks too much and someone definitely embarrasses themselves on the dance floor. But apparently the 2022 holiday event at a tech company Smart Impact Limited turned into something far more dramatic, because instead of just awkward small talk and bad karaoke, it ended with a lawsuit. Enter Laoise Foley.
Foley, described by many as a glamorous tech employee, sued her boss, Ahmed Eltohamy, claiming she was a victim of racism during the company’s Christmas client event.
And the alleged crime? Brace yourself.
It involves champagne pouring. According to Foley, during the festive event in 2022, Eltohamy was going around pouring champagne for guests and colleagues. Glass after glass got filled, bubbles everywhere, holiday cheer flowing.
But when he got to Foley, he skipped her. Yes, skipped!
No champagne, no bubbles. Just an empty glass and what Foley says felt like a very deliberate snub.
Now here’s where things take a sharp turn into courtroom territory.
Foley claims the reason she was skipped was because she is Irish. In her view, Eltohamy intentionally passed her over because of her nationality. Crazy, right?
But Employment Judge Hodgson, ruling at Central London Employment Tribunal in December, disagreed.
Mr Eltohamy, he found, had simply been placing glasses on the table for colleagues to help themselves – and Ms Foley had been free to do exactly that.
Ms Foley, 30, who earned a basic salary of £75,000 a year plus a £20,000 bonus, brought a total of 14 allegations of discrimination, harassment and victimisation against her employer.
She had originally also sued for unfair dismissal – but withdrew that claim on the first day of the hearing.
The remaining claims were all thrown out by the judge.
So the lesson here might be simple; if you’re in charge of pouring drinks at a company party, make absolutely sure every glass gets filled, because apparently skipping just one could end up costing a whole lot more than a bottle of champagne.
