Racial discrimination: Have you been harassed?
It’s against the law for anyone at work to taunt you about protected characteristics such as your race, even if it’s considered as “banter”.
Your employer has a responsibility to ensure the workplace is not an environment where that’s allowed to happen. If it does, you can make a claim for racial discrimination at the employment tribunal, and may win compensation.
That’s what happened to David Hawksworth, an Englishman who was taken on as a delivery driver at the Dundee company, Greencore Food to Go in 2018.
Soon after he started work, the depot manager, Patrick Murray, a Scot, called David an “English p***k” and “English b*****d”. During the 2018 World Cup, Patrick told David he would “soon be on the bus back to England like the football team”. He also said David would need to “go home” after Scotland attained independence.
In other incidents, Patrick spread lies about David being a “sex offender” when David mentioned he was due to attend court over allegations of stalking (they were ultimately dropped), and another colleague, Craig Steen, called David a “paedo”.
Because of this campaign of harassment, David felt offended and violated. The relationship between him and his employers eventually broke down, and he was signed off work with stress. In 2020, he was summoned to a disciplinary hearing and sacked.
David therefore took the company to the employment tribunal.
Judge Sally Cowan said the treatment he’d received was demeaning and violated his dignity. Because Patrick used the word “English” in his insults, she ruled that David was racially harassed on grounds of his nationality. She also ruled that his dismissal was unfair because the company followed a flawed procedure.
As a result, David was awarded £13,306. The amount takes account of the impact on his mental health due to the extended timescale over which the offences occurred, and his subsequent financial difficulties.
What this means to you
Your employer should:
- Not permit an environment where racially related ‘banter’ occurs
- Follow a proper procedure if they take you through a disciplinary process or sack you
If you’re being racially harassed at work, or you lose your job without fair cause or process, talk to us. We’ll tell you your chances of succeeding if you make a claim, and hold your hand every step of the way.
Related reading
For further information on this topic, you might find our other articles useful: