A bookkeeper whose boss repeatedly shouted ‘potato’ at her in a strong Irish accent has been awarded more than £23,000 after an Employment Tribunal found she had been racially harassed.
Background
The claimant worked for an engineering company and between December 2023 and June 2024 it was alleged she was subjected to repeated comments and mocking behaviour from the company director.
The Tribunal heard how the director would frequently shout ‘potato’ in an Irish accent as soon as he walked in the office and even sent an image of a potato in a WhatsApp message. Other offensive terms such as ‘paddy’ and ‘pikey’ were also allegedly used in reference to the claimant’s Irish heritage.
The claimant explained to the Tribunal how the repeated remarks eroded her confidence and left her feeling anxious, bullied and harassed, and that she did sometimes try to laugh along to ‘fit in’ and avoid conflict with her boss.
After months of being bullied and harassed in what the claimant described as a hostile and toxic environment, she was signed off work with work-related stress.
She raised a grievance about her boss’s behaviour and a further complaint of indirect harassment related to a protected characteristic and was later dismissed from the company.
Tribunal Findings
The Employment Judge accepted that the claimant did ‘join in’ on two occasions but that she did that to ‘fit in’ and considered whether the conduct amounted to unlawful discrimination.
The Tribunal found that the repeated use of the derogatory comments created a ‘hostile, humiliating and offensive environment’ for the claimant. The Judge added that it was reasonable for someone of Irish heritage to find the repeated use of words such as potato, paddy, stupid paddy and pikey as offensive and humiliating. Gathered together, these phrases are linked to race and on that basis, the conduct was found to be linked to race.
The Tribunal therefore upheld the claim for harassment related to race and also found that the claimant had been victimised. However, the claim for direct race discrimination was dismissed. As a result, the claimant was awarded £23,526 in compensation which included £13,000 for injury to feelings and four weeks’ pay for the company’s failure to provide the employee with a written statement of the terms and conditions of her employment.
Key Takeaways for Employers
This case is a recent example of how workplace conduct can amount to unlawful racial harassment and highlights key takeaways for employers:
- Repeated comments that are intended to be ‘jokes’ may constitute harassment if they create an offensive or degrading environment.
- Participation or tolerance by the employee does not always mean consent.
- Employers are responsible for preventing discriminatory workplace conduct.
To ensure managers and supervisors are fully aware of their responsibilities, we have a range of CPD-certified online courses including ‘Bullying and Harassment in the Workplace’. Each course provides interactive, bite-sized management and professional training from as little as £25 per employee, per course. Or, if you require external support with regards to updating policies and procedures, get in touch on 01942 727200 or email enquiries@employeemanagement.co.uk.
