Apprentice star who was forced to quit her job after facing a barrage of sexism awarded nearly £40,000 compensation

Elle Stevenson, of Windsor, who featured in series 11 of the BBC1 show alongside Lord Sugar, was subjected to vile messages and forced out of her position at a waste disposal firm after being left with long-term injuries from a horrific assault.

The 26-year-old was also made to pick up dog faeces, had a hard dog ball thrown at her head, and had sexually explicit notes left on her computer at Eden Beck, based in Uxbridge, west London.

During a nearly three-year campaign of abuse she was told "no bloke would touch you" and had notes calling her a "c***" stuck on her computer.

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The tribunal also gave her leave for her to try and reclaim £82,008 costs of the case in a civil court as the limit they could award was £20,000.

Miss Stevenson, who was 21 when she started working at the company in 2016, had to pick up dog mess left by her boss's pet in the office and was branded a "sh*t employee" who "couldn't arrange a period in a vagina".

In one incident 10 male employees were sent on a free trip to Las Vegas paid for by bosses at the waste disposal firm whilst not a single female employee was invited.

In messages in a WhatsApp group titled "EBK Office Crew" Miss Stevenson was referred to in a sexually explicit way and described as a "dirty tramp".

While on holiday she was told by one colleague that she should "hit the gym" in reference to her weight at the time.

And during another incident when she was getting coffee, she messaged that the shop was shut writing "it's shut". The reply was: "Your vagina or the coffee shop?"

Elle Stevenson on The Apprentice. Pic: BBC

Following a hearing at Watford Employment Tribunal she was awarded a total sum of £39,731 in compensation, details of which were published Friday, April 30.

A panel of employment judges ruled in her favour for the accusations of sex discrimination, constructive dismissal, and disability discrimination.

But her claims for harassment due to her sex and disability were dismissed.

After awarding the compensation for the proven allegations, employment Judge Stepehen Bedeau said: "The sexual discriminatory treatment became so institutionalised, she thought it was normal behaviour.

"We [the panel] have taken into account the manner of her treatment, in that it was sustained, degrading, and humiliating.

"She was the only female to have been treated by the male employees in the ways we have described in the liability judgment.

"The motive was her sex. She was singled out because of her sex, she was physically weaker than her male colleagues, and did not have the support of management as demonstrated by the way in which the joint complaint was dealt."

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Miss Stevenson featured on The Apprentice in 2015, where at 21 she was the youngest contestant and was fired in week six after failing to win a single task.

In the build up to the BBC show, Miss Stevenson describes herself as a "geezer bird" and said she is "effervescent, passionate and maybe a little insane".

She then went on to work for the waste disposal firm Eden Beck as a £30,000 a year office manager, then became regional accounts manager.

The abuse began in August 2016, within two months after Miss Stevenson started working at the company and ended with her resignation in June 2019.

In her witness statement, Miss Stevenson said: "Overall I believe what I have experienced with the respondent will affect me for the rest of my life, both professionally and personally.

"I continue to challenge myself to not believe what I was told for so long that I was worthless, useless, ugly and deserving of verbal and physical abuse which causes me to confront my resulting insecurities and to hopefully overcome the past and build a successful career and positive relationships with colleagues and friends."

Miss Stevenson, who now describes herself as a children's author, sued the environmental services and waste management company, claiming she was forced to quit.

Eden Beck's website states it covers environmental services, facilities management, diamond drilling, hazardous waste and asbestos removal.