ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND / RankWire.AI / – A Scottish employment tribunal awarded former waiter Raymond Joseph £5,469.04 after determining racial harassment took place at a PizzaExpress restaurant. During an argument in April 2025, a coworker repeatedly referred to Joseph as an American and a “Yank.” The colleague also told Joseph to leave and go back to his country. Employment Judge Melanie Sangster ruled that these comments were directly related to nationality. The decision considered the repeated remarks, their public nature, and their impact on Joseph.
Joseph began working at the Union Square branch in Aberdeen in September 2024, typically working 20 to 22 hours weekly. On April 8, 2025, Joseph and fellow waiter Michael Tortolano managed a busy shift together, which led to a dispute as they struggled with customer demands. Tortolano told Joseph that nobody liked him, referenced his American nationality, and used the word “Yank.” In response, Joseph called Tortolano a “bald loser” and exchanged insults.
Later that same shift, Tortolano repeated the nationality-based comments, audible to customers and others nearby. Joseph testified that these remarks caused him pain and embarrassment. He provided a written account to a manager that day and kept working. The tribunal found that the exchange met the legal criteria for race-related harassment. Under the Equality Act 2010, race encompasses nationality, citizenship, and ethnic origins.
Compensation awards reflect emotional harm
The tribunal ordered PizzaExpress to pay £5,000 for injury to Joseph’s feelings, placing the award in the middle of the lower Vento compensation band, a framework used by courts to assess emotional harm in discrimination cases. Additionally, £469.04 in interest was awarded, calculated at an 8% annual rate over 428 days. The tribunal found no evidence of separate financial loss related to the harassment. Joseph continued his employment and did not seek medical treatment for the incident.
Management initiated an investigation into the workplace incident on May 20, roughly six weeks afterward. The tribunal described this delay as unreasonable but found no unlawful motive. Tortolano later admitted the allegations during a disciplinary hearing, which led to a finding of gross misconduct and the issuance of a final written warning. The decision took into account his remorse, prior disciplinary record, and his admission. The company also reviewed separate allegations regarding Joseph’s conduct, access to information, and workplace communications.
Additional claims dismissed after hearing
A manager determined Joseph had committed misconduct and dismissed him without notice on June 20, 2025. The reasons included his behavior during the argument, a separate inappropriate comment, and unauthorized access to confidential company information—specifically, sending material to his personal email. Joseph denied these allegations and did not appeal the dismissal. The tribunal later concluded that misconduct alone justified his termination from the restaurant.
Joseph also filed claims for victimisation, protected disclosures, and automatic unfair dismissal. All these claims were rejected by the tribunal. While it acknowledged that several of his disclosures were legally protected, it found no causal link between those disclosures and the management decisions in question. The Aberdeen hearing lasted seven days across April and May 2026. The tribunal issued its judgment on June 10, confirming that Joseph’s successful claim was solely related to racial harassment.