Employment solicitors clamp down on racial slurs

The employment team recently achieved several thousand pounds compensation for a client that had been dismissed from his post after assaulting one of his colleagues. It transpired that the incident was the result of continued racist comments and jokes that had been directed towards him. Although he had won an appeal and was invited back to work, it was under the terms of a timely compromise agreement that an ACAS offer had invited him to sign.

Tayntons were instructed to represent the client at this point and our solicitors argued negligence on the part of the company’s management, who had accepted the practice of ‘banter’ which included employees being nicknamed in accordance with their race or origin. The team also argued that despite the clients’ previous complaints, no action had been taken by the employer which had lead to an intimidating, hostile, degrading and humiliating work environment for non-white workers. The settlement was a great result for the client and the emphasis was successfully shifted to the management’s failures rather than the conduct of the employee.