Youth worker wins harassment claim after racial abuse concerns were downplayed

A youth worker was subjected to race-related harassment after a manager responded to concerns about racist abuse by comparing the incident with staff being mocked over characteristics such as their age or weight, an employment tribunal has found.

The British employee who has Caribbean heritage, was employed by a local authority in a role supporting young people. During her employment, she worked with a young person who had previously directed racial slurs towards her. As part of that work, she had attempted to educate the young person about racism and colonialism.

In June 2024, the young person made a telephone call to a friend while in the worker’s presence. With the call on speakerphone, the two made offensive remarks about the worker and references to slavery while laughing.

The tribunal concluded that the discussion appeared to draw upon the worker’s previous attempts to educate the young person about racism and colonialism. Rather than engaging positively with that work, the subject had effectively been used as a means of mocking her.

The worker was upset by what happened and asked for the call to be ended, but further remarks followed. During the exchange, she responded that she did not have time to argue with “little boys”.

Later that day, she reported what had happened to a manager. During their conversation, the manager compared the behaviour with occasions when young people might make insulting remarks about staff members being old or overweight, or having a speech impediment.

The tribunal concluded that making such comparisons had the effect of minimising the seriousness of the racial abuse. It found that insulting remarks cannot necessarily be treated as equivalent simply because they are all offensive. In the circumstances of this case, the manager’s response effectively placed an expectation on the worker to tolerate what had been said and move on.  It was found that the response created a hostile, humiliating or offensive environment and therefore amounted to harassment related to race.

The following day, the worker emailed senior colleagues to raise concerns about both the original incident and what she regarded as a lack of understanding in the way colleagues had responded. She resigned later that month.

Before leaving the organisation, she submitted a formal grievance about the way she believed she had been treated. She argued that her concerns about racism had not been dealt with appropriately. An internal investigation concluded that managers had taken her complaints seriously, although it acknowledged that this had not been effectively communicated to her.

Recommendations arising from the grievance process included further training covering unconscious bias, equality, diversity and inclusion, and legally protected characteristics. Managers were also advised to exercise care when making comparisons involving different forms of discriminatory or offensive behaviour.

The employment tribunal ultimately upheld complaints of harassment related to race and also found that the worker had been victimised. Compensation will be determined separately.

This case is a reminder that employers must take grievances seriously; and cannot downplay the effect of discriminatory behaviour on an employee who complains. Should you wish to discuss this with a CIPD qualified consultant, contact 121 HR Solutions on 0800 9995 121.