A tech boss who claimed he was discussing a fictional character named ‘Ivana Humpalot’ when texting a female employee has been ordered to pay her £17,000.
Creative director Ala Uddin sent the blunt message “I vanna humpalot,” a reference to the Russian assassin from Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me, to Sasha Sasheva just a month after she started working for him.
At a hearing, it was said that later in November 2020, the director sent inappropriate text messages to Ms. Sasheva asking, “Love…when are we going to fuck?”
He also called her “beautiful,” asked her to have dinner with him for his birthday, and suggested they spend the night together at his friend’s house in Essex.
The new employee blocked his number and even had to move after seeing him ‘hanging out’ in her flat.
However, Mr. Uddin, 50, later claimed that his message simply referred to the Austin Powers character, played by Kristen Johnson, in the hit 1999 film.
Mr Uddin, 50, claimed he tried to overturn a tribunal ruling earlier this year that he was guilty of ‘a horrific and grave abuse of power’ and was ordered to pay Miss Sasheva £17,607.67 as compensation.
The character Ivana Humpalot played by Kristen Johnson was a Russian assassin hired by Dr. Evil in the 1999 movie
The tribunal heard that Ms Sasheva started working as an administrator for Mr Uddin’s software company All Techmart UK in October 2020.
Miss Sasheva was the only employee and while they were in the office together, Mr. Uddin ‘stared at her so much it made her feel uncomfortable’.
Mr Uddin proposed to Ms Sasheva just a month after she worked for him, as he stared at her so much that she began to feel uneasy.
When Ms. Sasheva charged him with sexual harassment, Mr. Uddin claimed that Ms. Sasheva was the one who harassed him.
The boss also said his lyrics were a joke that referenced the Austin Powers movie The Spy Who Shagged Me, the second in the series.
The character Ivana Humpalot was a Russian assassin hired by Dr. Evil in the 1999 movie.
She was known for wearing a white fur coat and black lace bodysuit, but ended up in bed with Mike Myers’ comic spy.
Mr Uddin, 50, claimed the Austin Powers were trying to overturn a tribunal ruling earlier this year that he was guilty of “a sordid and serious abuse of power”.
He eventually awarded Miss Sasheva £17,607.67 in compensation.
In a verdict published today, the East London panel rejected his argument, affirming that the original verdict would stand and ordering him to pay the damages.
Ms Sasheva had to go to great lengths to block his number and move home after seeing him “hanging out” in her flat.
Miss Sasheva chose to resign after second proposal underway because she was ‘upset and angry’ by her boss’s harassment
Miss Sasheva complained about the ‘terrible’ text messages and told him: ‘Don’t you ever talk to me like that’.
She told the court she “couldn’t have felt more uncomfortable” and was so afraid that she started working from home more often.
In March 2021, he texted her asking if she was alone and Miss Sasheva then saw him “hanging out at her flat.”
She said his behavior disturbed her and made her afraid for her own safety.
In the same month, Mr. Uddin sent her another “clear sexual proposal” asking if she would like to spend the night with him, so Ms. Sasheva told him that this was unacceptable harassment and that he should stop.
Despite her protest, her boss kept trying to call her numerous times until she had no choice but to block his number, the tribunal heard.
Miss Sasheva chose to resign after the second proposal because she was “upset and angry” by the bullying she had been subjected to.
Techmart UK boss Uddin, 50, claimed he made an Austin Powers joke to try to overturn a court ruling earlier this year that he was guilty of ‘a nasty and serious abuse of power’ but lost
The court heard that she felt so harassed by him that she filed a report with the police.
However, Uddin told the final court that Miss Sasheva suggested they have sex on her first day at work and tried to kiss him on her last day.
He said she talked “dirty” in the office and claimed her sexual harassment allegation was a “money-making exercise.”
Labor judge Sarah Moor said: “He claims that the ‘I vanna humpalot’ comment was a reference to a character in the movie Austin Powers and the Spy Who Shagged Me and was in fact part of a joke because [Miss Sasheva] loved Donald Trump whose wife (he says) was named Ivana.
‘Mr Uddin’s proof that’ [Miss Sasheva] made sexual advances to him that he found intimidating… seems unlikely.
‘The long back and forth lyrics… don’t suggest that’ [she] made sexual advances himself or used inappropriate sexual language or talked dirty.
On the contrary, she immediately objected to his advances and avoided any comment on his comments that she was beautiful etc. He also didn’t say words to the point – I don’t understand your objections now, it was you who started this.
“The comments he made that he sent flowers and that she was beautiful clearly suggest that he was making advances and those comments are completely at odds with his defense that he felt harassed by her alleged previous advances.”
Mr Uddin’s request for a stay to defend the allegations was rejected as the judge ruled that it had no chance of success.
She added: ‘It is clear from the evidence that it is Mr Uddin who made a sexual proposal’ [Miss Sasheva]not the other way around.
The assassin character is employed by Dr. Evil in the movies
“It is also clear that there is no shared sexual dialogue or joking about sexual talk: [she] immediately objected to his use of language, calling it harassment.’
At the original tribunal, Judge Moor said: ‘I have no doubt that the harassment took place in the first place’ [Miss Sasheva] feel extremely uncomfortable and nervous at first.
“I have no doubt that by the time she quit her job, she was scared, extremely upset and angry. She was forced to quit her job because of unlawful sexual harassment in the form of proposals from her boss and any other employee.
‘[She] has regularly had moments where she freezes with fear. She calls these panic attacks and they have occurred about three times a week since her discharge.
“They are, in my opinion, due to the intimidation…. [She] had nightmares, but these have diminished.’