Big Brother: Racism or Bullying?

This year’s Celebrity Big Brother brought a certain controversy to the airwaves as allegations of race discrimination made against Jade Goody for her behaviour towards the Bollywood star Shilpa Shetty occupied the press for a time. Whether you believe that the behaviour displayed in the house was racially motivated or just straight bullying, these issues are applicable to the vast majority of workforces. So what should you do if a worker brings an allegation of racism against another employee?

Race discrimination occurs when a worker is treated less favourably on the grounds of race, colour, ethnicity, or nationality. It is important to note that not only employees can bring allegations of racism against an employer. Casual workers, job candidates, contract workers, apprentices and trainees are also covered. It may seem unfair, but the employer is normally liable for the racist behaviour of people who work for him.

Let’s take an example. Ciro is an Italian national employed as a factory worker. His national origin and accent set him apart from the other employees. Other officers disparagingly called him ‘spic’ and on one occasion his payslip was opened and, ‘WOP’, was written across it.
Ciro complained and the employer, in breach of its procedures, failed to do anything to address the name calling or deal with the racist abuse. Threats were made against Ciro’s life and bullets were put through his letterbox at home. He moved his wife and children out to stay with her sister and himself moved to a bed and breakfast.
Allegations of harassment were then made against Ciro. Despite substantial evidence in support of Ciro, the employer took eight months to conclude an investigation into the accusations. The employer still had not investigated the complaints that Ciro had made relating to the racial abuse he was suffering.
Ciro left his employment at the factory and began to look for another job. He secured another job but the job offer was withdrawn when his old employer sent a less than glowing reference to the potential employer. As a result, Ciro suffered a severe mental breakdown and became suicidal.
Ciro could well take this matter to an Employment Tribunal and claim race discrimination and constructive unfair dismissal. In a case with facts similar to Ciro’s the Tribunal found in the Claimant’s favour and awarded him £370,000 in compensation, which included compensation for loss of future earnings, pension loss, personal injury, injury to feelings and aggravated damages.
Successful cases of race discrimination can lead to very high payouts because compensation for race discrimination does not have a statutory limit, unlike other forms of dismissal. To protect themselves, employers should take all allegations of race discrimination seriously, and using the statutory grievance procedure, investigate the matter thoroughly and, if necessary, discipline the perpetrators.

Published 06/02/2007.