Business Owner Reportedly Ordered to Pay Worker Over $34,000 for Coughing in Her Face During COVID-19

A businessman who deliberately coughed in an employee’s face during the COVID-19 pandemic has reportedly been ordered to pay her over $34,000 in court.

Kevin Davies was ordered to pay the money after an employment tribunal heard he set out to "ridicule" the woman who worked at his Cawdor car sales business over her health concerns by coughing directly at her on March 17, 2020, per U.K. newspaper The Times and BBC News.

The woman, who worked at the Wales-based company since 2017 before quitting after the incident in June 2020, had requested at the time to social distance from her co-workers due to having psoriatic arthritis and an autoimmune condition, days before the U.K.’s first lockdown. 

Davies reacted by “commenting that she was being ridiculous," per The Times and BBC News. The outlets also quoted judge Tobias Vincent Ryan as saying Davies "coughed in her direction deliberately and loudly."

According to the reports, Davies’ actions were overheard by other members of the management team. When asked to give evidence, however, they presented “defensively and as not being wholly straightforward."

Davies has now been ordered to pay a total of $34,282 (£26,438.84), per The Times and BBC News. 

This amount includes payments of $4,981 (£3,841) for unfair dismissal and $5,960 (£4,596) in interest from the incident, per legal documen -

Kim Kardashian Says Psoriasis ‘Covering ,...

ts filed in May 2023, obtained by PEOPLE.

The documents stated that the tribunal held the employee had been “constructively unfairly dismissed, and victimized” by Davies and that she had been “discriminated against because of something arising out of disability” by Davies and another member at the company.

The woman said after the hearing that she was left a “nervous wreck” following the incident, which led her to resign from the company three months later. 

"He knew of my medical condition. He knew I had no immune protection because of the medication I had to take, and he deliberately coughed in my face,” the employee said, per BBC News.

"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 got me."

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE's free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Judge Ryan added of the employee’s ordeal, per BBC News: "She resigned at least in part because she was victimised; this was a major and significant factor in her decision.”

"She felt that she was being eased out partly because of her complaints. She was correct."

PEOPLE has contacted Wrexham County Court for further details.

Related Articles

Follow Us

Carlos Marqués-Marcet Orchestrates a Del,...