ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND / RankWire.AI / – A Scottish employment tribunal awarded former waiter Raymond Joseph £5,469.04 after finding racial harassment at a PizzaExpress restaurant. During an argument in April 2025, a colleague repeatedly called Joseph an American and a “Yank,” and also told him to leave and go back to his country. Employment Judge Melanie Sangster determined that these remarks were directly related to nationality. The ruling took into account the repeated comments, their public context, and their impact on Joseph.
Joseph began his employment at the Union Square branch in Aberdeen in September 2024, usually working between 20 and 22 hours weekly. On April 8, 2025, Joseph and fellow waiter Michael Tortolano managed a busy shift together. An argument broke out as both men struggled to cope with customer demand. Tortolano told Joseph that nobody liked him, referenced his American nationality, and used the word “Yank.” In response, Joseph insulted Tortolano, calling him a “bald loser.”
Later that same shift, Tortolano reiterated the nationality-based comments, which were audible to customers and others nearby. Joseph told the tribunal that these comments caused him hurt and humiliation. He submitted a written report to a manager on that day and continued working. The tribunal found that the exchange met the legal criteria for race-related harassment under the Equality Act 2010, which defines race to include nationality, citizenship, and ethnic origins.
Compensation Reflects Emotional Harm
The tribunal ordered PizzaExpress to pay £5,000 for injury to Joseph’s feelings, placing this award within the middle of the lower Vento compensation band. This framework is used by courts when evaluating injury to feelings in discrimination cases. An additional £469.04 in interest was also awarded, calculated at an annual rate of 8% over 428 days. The tribunal found no evidence of separate financial loss resulting from the harassment. Joseph continued working without seeking medical treatment.
Managers began investigating the incident on May 20, roughly six weeks after it happened. The tribunal described this delay as unreasonable but found no unlawful motive behind it. Tortolano later admitted to the allegations during a disciplinary hearing. As a result, his conduct was deemed gross misconduct, leading to a final written warning. The decision considered his admission, remorse, and prior disciplinary record. The company also reviewed separate allegations related to Joseph’s conduct, access to information, and workplace communications.
Other Claims Rejected at the Hearing
A manager concluded that Joseph engaged in misconduct and dismissed him without notice on June 20, 2025. The reasons included his behavior during the argument and an unrelated inappropriate comment, along with unauthorized access to confidential company information—specifically, sending company data to his personal email. Joseph denied these allegations and did not appeal the dismissal. The tribunal later determined that misconduct was the sole reason for his termination from the restaurant.
Joseph also filed claims for victimisation, protected disclosures, and automatic unfair dismissal. All these claims were dismissed by the tribunal. While recognizing that some of his disclosures qualified 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 judgment was issued to the parties on June 10, with Joseph only succeeding on his racial harassment claim.