A CHAIN of coffee shops has been ordered to pay out £15,000 to a 17-year-old former staff member who an employment tribunal ruled was the victim of unlawful discrimination and harassment.

The teenager was "singled out and subject to derogatory comments" from his boss, wh "violated the claimant's dignity and created an intimidating, hostile, humiliating and offensive environment for him".

The Zoltar Group Ltd and Cocomo Ltd trading as Mangobean and director Uzma Dar were also ordered to pay £1,80.15 for loss of wages and £187.20 in unpaid holiday pay to the man who was working at the outlet in Oldham's Spindles Shopping Centre.

The tribunal also found proven the man's claim that Mangobean failed to provide him with a written contract of employment, awarding a further £312.

According to the tribunal findings, the man suffers from a "progressive condition" and is deemed a disabled person for the purposes of the Equality Act 2010.

He worked at the Mangobean Coffee Shop in Oldham from June 22, 2019 to November, 2019 as a trainee barista.

The claimant worked an average of 18 hours a week and was paid £4.35 an hour and earned on average £78 per week.

"In early October, 2019 the claimant was diagnoses with a progressive condition and disclosed this diagnosis to two colleagues and a supervisor," the tribunal report said

"On October 6, 2019 the claimants name had been removed from the rota and he received no shifts.

"Ms Dar justified the claimant's removal from the rota on the basis that his condition was more severe than he disclosed. He was forced to disclose his condition to her in an attempt to clear up any misunderstanding.

"She refused to reinstate him to the rota until he could prove that his condition could not be transmitted."

The tribunal said that during subsequent shifts he was told he must wear gloves to avoid transmission and he overhead her tell a colleague that he must not be allowed to touch food.

On November 1, 2019, colleagues told him that Ms Dar had disclosed his condition to all colleagues and warned them not to share drinks, food or cutlery with him because his condition could be transmitted by saliva.

He was removed from the rota on November 10, 17 and 24. He resigned with immediate effect on November 27.

The tribunal report goes on: "The claimant has been subject to direct disability discrimination contrary to section of 13 of the Equality Act. His removal from the rota amounts to less favourable treatment on the grounds of his disability.

"The reason for the removal was the (incorrect) assumption that the claimant's condition was capable of transmission if he didn't wear gloves, touched food or shared food, drink or cutlery with colleagues.

"The claimant has been subject to harassment. The assumption that the claimant's condition was more severe than it was, to insist that he could only work shifts if he could prove his conditional could not be transmitted, the referral of his condition to The Zoltar Group Ltd, being singled out and subject to derogatory comments from Ms Dar violated the claimant's dignity and created an intimidating, hostile, humiliating and offensive environment for him."

Since his resignation the man has only beed able to find work at his mother's company providing care for elderly people. He hopes to begin studies at university soon.