Can an award for injury to feelings be made even if the discrimination was indirect and unintentional?

Curiosity didn’t kill the cat.
But a lack of curiosity could seriously damage your business.

Here’s why.

Most organisations have compliance policies in place. Many even have people or departments dedicated to ensuring those policies are followed. But too often, compliance becomes a tick-box exercise. A quick training session here, some signed paperwork there—and that’s considered job done.

But real compliance isn’t just about process.
It’s about mindset.

The key to effective compliance is asking the right questions. Without that, assumptions take over—and those assumptions can have devastating consequences.

Take a recent legal case involving one of our clients and the housebuilding company Crest Nicholson.

At a company Christmas party, a manager was seen assaulting a female employee. That behaviour should have been enough to raise serious red flags. But instead of acting, the HR manager—who witnessed the incident—did nothing.

Later that same evening, another employee (our client) left the party with that same manager.
She was raped at a hotel.

The tragedy here wasn’t just the assault itself—it was the failure to act on a warning sign.
A single question could have changed everything:

“Should we suspend the manager immediately, remove him from the party, and begin an investigation?”

The answer, clearly, is yes. But the question was never asked.

This is where critical thinking and compliance intersect.
You can have all the policies in the world—but if managers and HR professionals don’t feel empowered or trained to ask the right questions, those policies won’t protect anyone.

At Yoga HR, we provide compliance courses that go beyond the basics. Courses that help managers recognise grey areas, challenge assumptions, and think critically—especially when it matters most.

We’re currently finalising a course on Critical Thinking for Managers, featuring real-world examples and case studies like the one above.

Because compliance without curiosity is like cooking without gas—technically possible, but far less effective.