A National Trust employee sued the charity for race discrimination after being invited to join a diversity group.
Abida Jenkins, who worked at a heritage site in Cheshire, claimed her manager Wayne Carter was acting as a "white saviour" by singling her out because of her race.
She said she felt "shocked, embarrassed, humiliated and very much degraded" by his invitation.
However, an employment tribunal dismissed her claims, ruling she had "an unjustified sense of grievance" and had "exaggerated her evidence".
Describing one incident, she said: "It felt he was using a sledgehammer to break a vase."
She added: "I politely declined...he wasn't taking 'no' for an answer...leading me to view him as just another superficial individual presenting himself as a 'white saviour' singling me out for his group only because I was an ethnic minority."
Jenkins complained to her line manager about Carter, who said he was mortified to have caused any upset.
Carter explained the reason he asked Jenkins more than once was probably because "I don't believe I received a definitive yes or no answer".
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Employment judge Dawn Shotter dismissed Jenkins' claims, stating she "had an unjustified sense of grievance, imagining slights and conspiracies when there were none".
The tribunal concluded that Jenkins had "exaggerated her evidence" regarding the diversity group invitation.
It found she was not pressured by Wayne Carter to join the group.
The judge noted: "Had [Jenkins] genuinely felt Wayne Carter's requests were inappropriate, especially as he asked her on the Mill floor in front of visitors, she would have raised a complaint at the time or soon after."
The tribunal heard Jenkins started working at Quarry Bank Mill, a heritage site in Styal, Cheshire, in 2022 as a "technical demonstrator".
Jenkins resigned in 2023 after receiving a verbal warning for using equipment at the museum without supervision.
The tribunal heard she was "convinced because she had an engineering degree she should advance quickly".
She was also accused of using a "patronising tone" when speaking with bosses.
Following these incidents, Jenkins accused the National Trust of race, sex and age discrimination.
All of these claims were dismissed by the employment tribunal alongside her complaint about the diversity group invitation.
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Abida Jenkins, who worked at a heritage site in Cheshire, claimed her manager Wayne Carter was acting as a "white saviour" by singling her out because of her race.
She said she felt "shocked, embarrassed, humiliated and very much degraded" by his invitation.
However, an employment tribunal dismissed her claims, ruling she had "an unjustified sense of grievance" and had "exaggerated her evidence".
Describing one incident, she said: "It felt he was using a sledgehammer to break a vase."
She added: "I politely declined...he wasn't taking 'no' for an answer...leading me to view him as just another superficial individual presenting himself as a 'white saviour' singling me out for his group only because I was an ethnic minority."
Jenkins complained to her line manager about Carter, who said he was mortified to have caused any upset.
Carter explained the reason he asked Jenkins more than once was probably because "I don't believe I received a definitive yes or no answer".
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Employment judge Dawn Shotter dismissed Jenkins' claims, stating she "had an unjustified sense of grievance, imagining slights and conspiracies when there were none".
The tribunal concluded that Jenkins had "exaggerated her evidence" regarding the diversity group invitation.
It found she was not pressured by Wayne Carter to join the group.
The judge noted: "Had [Jenkins] genuinely felt Wayne Carter's requests were inappropriate, especially as he asked her on the Mill floor in front of visitors, she would have raised a complaint at the time or soon after."
The tribunal heard Jenkins started working at Quarry Bank Mill, a heritage site in Styal, Cheshire, in 2022 as a "technical demonstrator".
Jenkins resigned in 2023 after receiving a verbal warning for using equipment at the museum without supervision.
The tribunal heard she was "convinced because she had an engineering degree she should advance quickly".
She was also accused of using a "patronising tone" when speaking with bosses.
Following these incidents, Jenkins accused the National Trust of race, sex and age discrimination.
All of these claims were dismissed by the employment tribunal alongside her complaint about the diversity group invitation.
Find Out More...