Worker Called “Pikey” by Boss is Awarded £300,000 by Employment Tribunal

An executive at recruitment firm Cordant who was called “pikey” and “gyppo” in board meetings has been awarded nearly £300,000 by an employment tribunal. Edward Bell received a barrage of abuse and alleged he was wrongfully dismissed for whistle-blowing after raising concerns about the takeover of a rival firm.

Mr Bell started working for the Manchester branch of the company in June 2014 but was informed in September 2015 that he was being sacked from his role with six months’ notice. He told the employment tribunal that his line manager had subjected him to sustained abuse, commenting on his “pretty thick Irish accent,” suggesting that he dressed like a “gyppo,” while also making jokes about his “horse and cart.”

In his statement to the tribunal, Mr Bell wrote: “I believe [my line manager] saw me as a potential whistleblower, sought to get me out of Cordant.”

The tribunal upheld his claims of harassment related to race and unfair dismissal because of making protected disclosures.

When banter stops and bullying begins

The employment tribunal’s judgment stated: “We found that, at various times, Mr Barnes referred to him as a ‘pikey’ or a ‘paddy’ and said that the claimant was ‘scruffy’, ‘dressed like a gypsy’ or a ‘gyppo’ or looked like a tinker.”

“We conclude that all these comments clearly related to the claimant’s Irish origin and/or his Traveller background and that the comments, therefore, clearly related to race.”

After the ruling, Mr Bell spoke out about his experiences with the company. He said: “My family lineage has some Romany. It’s about abuse of power by bullying.”

He added: “A lot of it happened during board meetings. But we all know when banter stops and racism begins. It was demeaning and derogatory.”

Workplace bullying costs businesses £18bn

A YouGov poll for the TUC found that 29% of employees have experienced workplace bullying. In addition, a 2011 survey by Unison indicated that 60% of 6,000 respondents interviewed had suffered or witnessed bullying in their work.

A 2015 report by Acas found that workplace bullying was on the increase, costing businesses up to £18bn per year. Sir Brendan Barber, Acas chair, said: “Our analysis reveals that bullying is on the rise in Britain and it is more likely to be found in organisations that have poor workplace climates where this type of behaviour can become institutionalised.”

“Callers to our helpline have experienced some horrific incidents around bullying that have included humiliation, ostracism, verbal and physical abuse. But managers sometimes dismiss accusations around bullying as simply personality or management style clashes whilst others may recognise the problem but lack the confidence or skills to deal with it,” he said.

Mr Barber added:

“Businesses should be taking workplace bullying very seriously as the annual economic impact . . . is estimated to be almost £18bn.”

Impact of bullying is felt by witnesses as well as victims

Workplace bullying can also derail corporate success because of its impact on staff turnover rates. A 2015 report by noworkplacebullies.com found that approximately 30% of people who experience workplace bullying go on to leave their jobs, as well as 20% of employees who witness the bullying of other staff members of their company.

Marjan Houshmand, a researcher on bullying in the workplace, notes the impact that the witnessing of bullying can have on other employees, saying: “Of particular note is the fact that we could predict turnover intentions as effectively either by whether someone was the direct target of bullying, or by how much an environment was characterized by bullying.”

“This is potentially interesting because we tend to assume that direct, personal experiences should be more influential upon employees than indirect experiences only witnessed or heard about in a second-hand fashion. Yet our study identifies a case where direct and indirect experiences have a similarly strong relationship to turnover intentions,” she said.

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