An IT worker who believed he was psychic and had seen a female colleague in his dreams has lost his bid for compensation after being fired by Computacenter (UK) Ltd. The Employment Appeal Tribunal upheld the decision that Elrich Daudet's belief in the prophetic nature of his dreams was not a protected characteristic under equality laws, and his communications to the colleague constituted harassment.
Daudet, a senior computer analyst, claimed his bosses discriminated against him because of his "protected belief" in his prophetic dreams. He asserted that the woman, Vanessa De Souza, had appeared in his dreams months before they met and was destined to be a muse for his creative work. After meeting her, he sent her messages, including poetry likening her scent to "flowers in the Garden of Eden," and stated he had known they would cross paths for a year. He was subsequently dismissed for gross misconduct in December 2022.
An employment tribunal had previously rejected his claim, finding that his belief was too specific to his own precognitive abilities rather than a general belief in the power of dreams. The tribunal also concluded that his messages, which were described as "love poems" and "amorous in nature," were not a manifestation of his belief but rather constituted harassment.
Lord Fairley, presiding over the Employment Appeal Tribunal, stated that there was no legal error in the lower tribunal's conclusion. He noted that the colleague felt "uncomfortable" and "panicky" due to the communications, which were deemed objectively sexual. "She thought he was coming on to her and that made her feel uncomfortable. It doesn't matter whether he touches her or if it's in an email," Lord Fairley said.
Daudet, who has worked at the IT services company since 2008, had also claimed discrimination based on his race as a Black man. The ruling found ample evidence of distress and alarm caused to the woman by his communications. His appeal was refused, upholding the dismissal of his claims.