A white Asian food factory worker who was told by his boss that he didn’t understand the recipes he was being asked to make because of his colour of skin and that he should go and work for an English firm has now won his claim of race discrimination.
When Colin Sorby began complaining about the ‘stereotypical’ comments being aimed at him, his shifts dried up and he was effectively fired. UNN’s Oliver Down understands that the employment tribunal ruled the comments made by a supervisor at Mumtaz Foods violated Mr Sorby’s dignity.
The hearing was told that Azheem Akhtar held the view that only British Asians like himself should be allowed to work at the company which supplies meals to Indian restaurants and supermarkets. Mr Akhtar claimed he apologised, but this was dismissed at the tribunal as no disciplinary action was taken against him.
Mr Akhtar said, in defence, that his offensive comments occurred as a result of a misunderstanding due to language difficulties. However, the judge dismissed this claim as he said he was able to clearly express himself in English on other everyday matters.
After Mr Akhtar had made the comments, Mr Sorby was told he was being placed ‘on call’, he was asked to clear his locker, hand in his property and look for another job because he was told he would not be offered any more work.
The judge said: ‘The effect of the comment was that due to the fact the claimant was not English he could not cook Asian food properly. This was a stereotypical assumption that was not predicated on any factual basis’.
Current Affairs Correspondent | My name is Oliver Down I am 22, and a staunch brexiteer. I am a Bristolian lad who studied politics in Leicester. I believe in free speech and accurate journalism and I won’t be afraid to give you “the other side” of the story!
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