Victim of Workplace Race-Related Harassment Receives Compensation

Victims of workplace harassment sadly often fear the consequences of rocking the boat, but there are very good reasons why they should consult a solicitor straight away. The point was made by the case of an administrative assistant who took action after a colleague denigrated her Chinese…

Mar 07, 2022

After she mentioned her grandmother’s Chinese descent in the office, her colleague responded with the words: ‘Does she own a chip shop? All Chinese own chip shops.’ She was embarrassed, upset and offended by the remark. She resigned some months later and launched Employment Tribunal (ET) proceedings.

Her employer at the time accepted that the colleague’s derogatory comment was an act of harassment that was related to race. It argued, however, that all reasonable steps had been taken to prevent him from making such remarks. It asserted that all its staff were required to undergo equality and diversity training, together with refresher courses.

Ruling on the matter, the ET noted that there was no evidence that the colleague in fact underwent such training. His tendency to make inappropriate comments was known to his line manager. Although she would intervene if she thought he was about to say something offensive, it should have been apparent to her that he had not taken on board any equality and diversity training he had received and did not appreciate the effect of his remarks on others.

The ET was satisfied that the employer’s equality and diversity policies had not been enforced sufficiently robustly in relation to the colleague. It would have been reasonably practicable for the employer to ask him to do the training, or to do it again, and to have told him in terms to stop making inappropriate comments.

The woman’s claims of constructive unfair dismissal, direct discrimination, victimisation and further allegations of harassment did not succeed. However, in relation to the colleague’s remark and its effect on her, she was awarded £8,500 for injury to her feelings. With interest, her total award came to £9,491.

Chair-Renting Hairdresser Remained an Employee – Guideline ET Ruling

Many hairdressers rent chairs from salons, paying a percentage of their takings to salon owners. However, as an Employment Tribunal (ET) ruling made plain, their apparent self-employed status is in many cases illusory. The case concerned a stylist who was employed at a salon for a decade before she purportedly made the transition to self-employed status. She was eager to be paid on a self-employed basis, actively pursuing the change in the belief that she would be better off by £600 a month.…

Nurse Victimised for Whistleblowing Receives Substantial Compensation

Workplace whistleblowing is an act of good citizenship and the law frowns deeply on employers who fail to respond appropriately. An Employment Tribunal (ET) made that point in awarding substantial compensation to an NHS nurse who complained of racism and bullying on the ward where she worked. The nurse complained to her manager that junior colleagues were being bullied and that staff on the ward had formed into cliques, divided by race. She also asserted that racial factors were affecting the…

Inducements to Forego Participation in Trade Union Activities – ET Ruling

Workers have a right not to have offers made to them which have the sole or main purpose of inducing them not to participate in trade union activities. An outsourcing company found that out to its cost after making a trade union activist a tempting offer of a transfer to a new workplace at a higher rate of pay. The man worked at government-owned premises where the company was contracted to provide cleaning services. He had an active and high-profile role in an independent trade union and had in…