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A 54-year-old Essex woman has been awarded more than £20,000 in compensation, after accusing her old boss of shouting "she must be on her menopause" while they were at work.

Leigh Best, who's from Wickford, was working at a pet food shop in March 2020 at the start of the pandemic, when she complained that her employers weren't implementing their own Covid-19 guidelines.

She claims her boss followed by making repeated comments referring to her age and gender. She was sacked soon after.

But a year later, she took her old employer to a tribunal, claiming unfair dismissal, and last week a judge awarded her the payout.

Leigh now runs her own business, selling raw pet food out of her garage.

Leigh's former employer is Embark on Raw, which is on the Barleylands estate near Billericay. In a statement, they said:

"We did everything we could to work with Leigh Best whilst she was employed by us. It is a very sad situation when any business, large or small, finds themselves defending a grievance that comes to light after dismissal. During the pandemic we have always followed the law and did everything we could to protect our staff and customers according to the guidance available at the time. We are seeking further legal advice in regards to Leigh Best’s claim and therefore are unable to comment on specific events further. We would like to thank our staff and customers for the incredible support that we have been shown, it has been overwhelming."

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