Mr Hossein Khansari v Platipus Anchors Limited — 2024

Mr Khansari worked as the Respondent's Regional Sales Manager from March 2019 until his summary dismissal on 4 January 2022. The tribunal considered claims of unfair dismissal, harassment related to race, and direct race discrimination. It found the direct race discrimination claim failed, but upheld the harassment claim in part on the basis that Messrs Curnick and Richardson sometimes mimicked an Indian accent.

The tribunal rejected the pleaded race-related allegations about project allocation, written warnings copied to others, the removal of the LFAS project, suspension, refusal to postpone the disciplinary hearing, the alleged 'brown dogs' and 'hot curry' remarks, and the use of Afrikaans in the office. It found that the 'brown dogs' and 'hot curry' phrases were not proved. It accepted that accent mimicking had occurred, held that it was unwanted and related to race, and concluded that it had the effect of violating the Claimant's dignity or creating a hostile environment. Although the latest possible incident was before 31 December 2021, time was extended by 25 days as just and equitable.

On unfair dismissal, the Respondent conceded procedural unfairness. The tribunal held that if a fair capability process had been followed, dismissal would still have occurred by early March 2022, limiting loss of earnings to 15 weeks. It found the Claimant contributed to his dismissal to the extent of 50%, relying on findings that he took files, failed to follow reasonable instructions about the BDP and the 'creep' issue, and contributed to a tense working atmosphere. It applied a 20% ACAS uplift. Remedy was not quantified in the judgment and was listed for a hearing on 2 December 2024.