On 22 November, a tribunal in the U.K. ruled that the continual use of the term “potato” to insult an Irish employee constituted racial harassment, and rightly so. 

The verdict received widespread attention and generated thousands of tweets criticizing the actions of the company.

So, what happened? 

The case revolved around Bernadette Hayes, an office manager from Ireland who worked at West Leeds Civils (a civil engineering company).

According to evidence presented to the tribunal, when Hayes arrived late to work, Atkins would often shout “Potato” at her as she walked in the door.

This occurred in front of other staff members and continued to happen even after she expressed that his behavior was not funny.

Atkins also used additional derogatory remarks about Irish individuals directed at Hayes including:

    •   “Paddy”

    •   “Silly Paddy”

    •   “Pikey”

These comments referenced Hayes’ ethnic origin and ethnic make-up thereby serving as the basis of the racial harassment case that ended with a ruling from the tribunal.

Sick move! 

Not only in the office, bro did it on Whatsapp too! 

Atkins also harassed Hayes via messaging on WhatsApp

The behaviours described are not limited to face-to-face interactions, bhaisaab digital racism bhi ho raha hai. 

According to the tribunal, Atkins sent Hayes a series of WhatsApp messages, one calling her a “potato”.

Hayes testified that the repeated abuse made her feel “small, vulnerable, violated, and incredibly anxious”.

The abuse created an atmosphere of dread when going into work.

But, why didn’t she just quit? 

Hayes reported that the overall impact on her self-esteem and confidence has been damaging.

“I didn’t quit because I felt stuck”

Numerous individuals have asked why she continued working at the same firm after experiencing such a long-term toxic workplace. During the tribunal hearing, Hayes stated that she needs to support herself and her family financially because of her recent life transition.

Now, can you really blame her for that? How many times have we excused how our managers talk to us just because we feel… koi nahi apna time aayega? And moreover, because we really need that job and the paycheck.

Hayes shared the following during her testimony: “I am going through some significant life changes, hence the need for continued employment.”

Hayes explained that she was stuck in the (toxic) environment and it was creating additional anxiety due to feeling like she was unable to speak out.

“I felt trapped, which added to my anxiety. I stayed quiet for fear of drawing attention, yet I still experienced all of this anxiety.”

She described having panic attacks and insomnia due to the abuse, which made it difficult for her to perform her job every day.

Day 101919 of reminding everyone that racial jokes are not just jokes! 

The psychological damage was debilitating

The tribunal heard elaborate descriptions of how Hayes was impacted psychologically and emotionally by the workplace situation.

She would have to find the capacity to go into work. This difficulty made her sit at the car park, sometimes, prior to going into work, because she was fearful of entering the workplace.

When she first got up to go to work, she would think about the remark and be anxious for what might happen that working day.

The tribunal also heard the claim that Ms. Hayes would check her emails each morning to ascertain if Mr. Atkins was at work, as she had previously experienced another incident of ridicule.

On some occasions, she would become physically ill at the thought of going into the office.

Judgment Analyzing Misplaced/Erroneous References by the Tribunal

Mr. Atkins defended his actions throughout the hearing and has stated the claims against him are “rubbish, period!” in all respects.

Throughout the proceedings, Mr. Atkins stated that Ms. Hayes had made a reference to a “potato” in a humorous nature and sent a potato via whatsapp to him, which demonstrated that joke had previously been known to both of them.

Bhai kyaaa? 

The tribunal did not accept Mr. Atkins’ defence, and Judge Buckley stated that Ms. Hayes’ purpose of using the slang term only to make her feel like she was fitting in and not that Ms. Hayes would find their joking about this to be an acceptable outcome.

The judge commented about how Atkins could have communicated with Hayes in other ways instead of via emails but he did not do so. 

The judgement noted that Hayes had more than once told Atkins that his comments were not funny. Atkins did not contest that he made the comments as referred to in this case. 

Ultimately, it found sufficient evidence for a finding of racial harassment against Hayes and that the constant reference to her Irish heritage constituted a hostile and humiliating environment to work. 

The judgement referred to Atkins’ comment as using language that included “potato,” “paddy,” “stupid paddy,” and “pikey.” The tribunal also found that after making a complaint Hayes was pursued by the company for entirely unfounded, temporal allegations of gross misconduct, which assisted in the finding for victimisation. The tribunal awarded Hayes £23,526 in total compensation, which will be converted at the time of writing into approximately ₹29 lakh.

Here are some terms and conditions of compensation:

£13000 for Injury to feelings,

£6014 for Loss of earnings, and

Any amount agreed upon due to other damages.

The judgment also indicated that the workplace bullied by management inflicted psychological injury.

Judge saab, aap to bohot woke type nikle 🙂 

The world is healing or what? 

Reddit Reacts 😳

Many Reddit users agreed that the boss acted immaturely.

One person wrote:

“A director who does not recognize that this is workplace bullying should be sued and let go. This is definitely not employee to employee bullying!”

The behaviour was put down to being acted out of childishness, as another user compared it with working for a fictional boss:

“It wasn’t working for Mallory Archer, was it?”

Others characterised their opinion of the behaviour as behaving like an immature child,

“Like a 2 year old sees McDonald’s out of the window of a car.”

Another, who was quoting the tribunal decision, pointed out how adult people should take responsibility for their actions.

“When you’re a kid, you might say whatever comes into your mind without worrying about being held responsible. But as you grow up, you get the opportunity to file a lawsuit, should we think that your actions may be bullies or harassers.”