A woman who witnessed a senior male colleague viewing "sexual" images of women on his computer at the Department of Education has settled her sexual harassment case for £25,000.

The woman said she felt like she was being "reprimanded" when HR told her to work from home or another office if she did not want to continue working alongside the man.

Her case was supported by the Equality Commission for Northern Ireland and was settled without admission of liability.

The Department of Education said it "acknowledged and regretted the upset and distress" that the case had caused to the woman.

The woman had seen the man viewing the "provocative" images, which featured women in various states of undress, while they were working in an open-plan office.

She said she was "shocked" by what she witnessed while she was sitting at her workstation and she reported the incident to management.

"[The images] were of a sexual nature and totally inappropriate for the workplace," she said.

"I felt annoyed and vulnerable, particularly as I was the only other person present."

The woman took photos of what she had seen as evidence but was told to delete them by HR due to "data protection concerns".

She was then told the male colleague would not be moved, have his internet access restricted or be suspended while the matter was being investigated.

She later pursued formal complaints regarding both the man's conduct and management's response.

"I was extremely disappointed by how I was treated after making a complaint," she said.

"I also believed the time it took for my complaints to be considered was unnecessarily long.

"It led me to believe that neither I nor my complaint were taken seriously by my employer."

The Equality Commission's chief commissioner Geraldine McGahey told BBC Radio Ulster's Evening Extra programme that she was "shocked" at the nature of the complaint - and "equally shocked" by how the department had dealt with it.

"It's really unfortunate this poor woman was put through such a distressing time in trying to have her voice heard," said McGahey.

She said it was right the woman kept the photos as that was the evidence that would highlight how the wrongdoing made her feel as a consequence.

"To ask this woman to move, she had done nothing wrong, that really goes against what you would expect [in] an investigation process.

"It's really important for the wellbeing of everyone else around a person or in that situation that they're protected and the person who is the perpetrator gets moved to another location."

The Department of Education said it was committed to upholding the "highest equality standards and compliance" with equality legislation.

It said it was engaging with the Equality Commission and Northern Ireland Civil Service HR colleagues on the issue.

"We are committed to ensuring that acceptable standards of workplace behaviour are clearly communicated and understood by staff, and we are taking a proactive approach to ensuring that employees engaged in our internal processes are appropriately supported," said a spokesperson.