Woman suing hairdresser doubles payout claim

A Muslim woman suing an Islington hairdresser for religious discrimination says she has received hate mail and has more than doubled her compensation claim.

Bushra Noah, 19, took legal action against salon owner Sarah Desrosiers after she was turned down for a job at Wedge, in Caledonian Road, because of her Muslim headscarf.

Miss Desrosiers, 32, turned the teenager down following a trial day last March saying it was a basic job requirement that customers be able to see her stylists’ hair.

An employment tribunal was due to start on January 16 but was postponed at the last minute when Miss Noah upped her compensation claim from £15,000 to £35,000 in damages.

Miss Noah claims she has received hate mail because of the high profile press coverage the case has attracted.

Miss Desrosiers said: “I found out she’s claiming that she’s got hate mail as a result of the publicity. That’s beyond my control.”

Canadian-born Miss Desrosiers faces financial ruin if she loses but says she does not regret her decision.

She has held fundraising events to help cover her legal fees and says without the press coverage she would not have been able to afford a lawyer.

“I might have to go personally bankrupt,” said Miss Desrosiers.

The hairdresser now faces an agonising wait after the case was rescheduled for March. She said: “I’m trying to get on with my work. I feel I did the right thing.”

Miss Noah, from Acton, had been rejected for jobs at 25 hair salons across London but claims she felt “devastated and depressed” after Miss Desrosiers was “rude and mean” to her on the trial day.

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