Did you know you are protected by law against offensive comments made in the workplace? Here’s a recent case that was described as “outrageous and discriminatory” by the London Central employment tribunal. 
In March 2017, Ms S Khan joined SN Estates Property Services to do admin and accounts work.
She describes herself as being from a Pakistani ethnic background. As such, she experienced a string of offensive comments made by Mr M Miah, the company director and owner.
For example, he called her “kamini” (which means “bitch” in Urdu), and described all Pakistanis as “stingy”. He used a racial slur to describe his Pakistani son-in-law. He also used a racist term when discussing Ms Khan’s fiancé.
She asked him to stop as she found this language insulting and offensive. However, witnesses described Mr Miah as volatile and easily upset.
In one incident, he said, “Why aren’t you all doing your jobs properly. Do you want me to come and chop all your heads off? When will you [P***s] learn?”
In another, he made an abusive phone call to Ms Khan, swearing, using the racial slur, and saying, “You can’t even do your jobs properly, you retards from all corners of the world”.
She reported this call to the police, and Mr Miah was convicted of malicious communication.
By August, Ms Khan was suffering stress and migraines, so she took a day off work. Her fiancé phoned the company to arrange a formal grievance meeting to discuss Mr Miah’s behaviour towards her.
Mr Miah refused, and dismissed Ms Khan in an email.
She made 14 claims to the employment tribunal for racial and sexual harassment. The tribunal ruled she was dismissed because of the threat of a grievance hearing, not because of her performance. As a result, Ms Khan won nine of her claims and was awarded nearly £82,000.
What this means to you
You should feel safe to report acts of discrimination. (Your employer should explain the channels to use as part of your induction.)
If you witness a colleague who is being treated unfavourably, you should speak up, as this helps create a responsible company culture.
If you experience harassment yourself, you may be able to make a claim against your employer. Give us a call and we’ll help you with that.
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