ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND / RankWire.AI / – A Scottish employment tribunal awarded former waiter Raymond Joseph £5,469.04 after finding evidence of racial harassment at a PizzaExpress outlet. During an argument in April 2025, a colleague repeatedly referred to Joseph as an American and a “Yank.” The same colleague also told Joseph to leave and go back to his country. Employment Judge Melanie Sangster determined that these remarks were directly related to nationality. The ruling considered the repeated comments, their public context, and their impact on Joseph.
Joseph began his employment at the Union Square restaurant 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 service together. An altercation ensued as both struggled with customer demand. Tortolano told Joseph that nobody liked him, referenced his American nationality, and used the word “Yank.” Joseph retaliated with insults, including calling Tortolano a “bald loser.”
Later during the same shift, Tortolano repeated the nationality-based remarks. Portions of the confrontation were audible to customers and bystanders. Joseph testified that these comments caused him hurt and humiliation. He provided a written account to a manager on that day and continued working. The tribunal found that the exchange met the legal criteria for harassment based on race. Under the Equality Act 2010, race encompasses nationality, citizenship, and ethnic origins.
Compensation acknowledges emotional distress
The tribunal ordered PizzaExpress to pay £5,000 for injury to Joseph’s feelings, placing the award within the middle of the lower Vento compensation band, a framework courts use to evaluate emotional distress in discrimination cases. An additional £469.04 in interest was awarded, calculated at an annual rate of 8% over 428 days. The tribunal found no evidence of separate financial loss caused by the harassment. Joseph continued working without seeking medical treatment.
The investigation by managers into the workplace incident began on May 20, about six weeks after it happened. The tribunal described this delay as unreasonable but found no unlawful intent behind it. Tortolano later admitted the allegations during a disciplinary hearing. The company deemed his conduct gross misconduct and issued a final written warning, considering his admission, remorse, and prior disciplinary record. The employer also looked into separate allegations related to Joseph’s conduct, access to information, and workplace communications.
Other claims dismissed at tribunal
A manager concluded that Joseph engaged in misconduct and dismissed him without notice on June 20, 2025. The decision was based on his behavior during the argument, an unrelated inappropriate comment, and unauthorized access to confidential company data. Specifically, the manager found that Joseph had sent company material to his personal email account. Joseph denied these accusations and did not appeal his dismissal. The tribunal later determined that misconduct was the sole reason for his departure from the restaurant.
Joseph also filed claims of victimisation, protected disclosures, and automatic unfair dismissal. All these claims were rejected by the tribunal. While several of his disclosures did qualify for legal protection, the tribunal 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 to the parties on June 10. Ultimately, Joseph’s success was limited to the racial harassment claim.