Lecturer Awarded Rs 1 Crore After She Was Fired For Being "Loud"

The academic was dismissed from her service of 29 years by the University Of Exeter

A university lecturer in the UK has won over 100,000 pounds (over Rs 1 crore) after she took her employer to court on charges of unfair dismissal. The senior academic, Dr Annette Plaut, had been working at the University of Exeter for over 29 years when she was fired by the institution. Dr Plaut was sacked from her post in the university's physics department because of her loud voice, she claimed. The dismissal prompted the academic to take up the matter in court. In her complaint, Dr Plaut not only accused the university of being “institutionally unconsciously biased”, but also stated that she had to seek medical help to handle the stress being brought on by her former employer's treatment of her.

Dr Plaut said that she had a “naturally loud voice” which she attributed to her European Jewish background. As per a report by The Guardian, she claimed it was the combination of her being “female and loud” that had led to her being fired after working at the university for nearly three decades. She also holds the distinction of being the first female academic to join the university's physics department.

In response to the allegation, the university said that Dr Plaut had been fired over the way she dealt with two PhD students, as per a report in the Mirror. The institution denied categorically that the removal had anything to do with her background or her sex.

The employment tribunal, however, ruled that she had been unfairly dismissed. The university was then ordered to pay Dr Plaut 100,000 pounds.