A woman named Karen had a classic ‘Karen moment’ that ended badly when she tried to sue her former employer.
Throughout your career, you may hold various jobs—some enjoyable and hard to leave, others you might be eager to exit. But would the lack of a farewell card provoke a commotion?
Karen Conaghan claimed her former employer, IAG—one of the world’s largest airline groups, which includes British Airways, Aer Lingus, and Iberia—disregarded her by not providing a farewell card. She argued that the absence of this card victimized her and violated equality laws.
However, an employment tribunal revealed a different narrative. Testimonies indicated that managers did prepare a card, but only three people signed it. They chose not to present it to Conaghan, believing it would be more insulting, as explained by the judge.
Judge Kevin Palmer remarked, “He believed it would have been more insulting to give her the card than not to give her a card at all.”
Conaghan’s lawsuit included 40 allegations against her former employer, such as sexual harassment, victimization, and unfair dismissal, all of which were dismissed by the court. The tribunal concluded that the incidents “either did not happen or, if they did, they were innocuous interactions in the normal course of employment,” according to The Times.
The judge also commented on Conaghan’s character based on her claims, noting that one of the allegations highlighted her tendency to view normal interactions as more sinister. He remarked that she exhibited a “conspiracy theory mentality” regarding “simple, normal workplace interactions.”
The Guardian reported an example where she complained after a coworker asked, “Are you taking the p*ss, Karen?” in response to her assertion of doing “all the hard work.” This phrase is a common British rhetorical expression used to question if someone is joking or being insincere.