A bar manager who was told by her boss that she looked “very Aryan with your blue eyes and blonde hair” has been awarded more than £18,000 for unfair dismissal and injury to feelings after an employment tribunal found she was discriminated against.
The employment tribunal in Glasgow heard that Sky Sinclair, an actress who worked for More Blacks, More Dogs, More Irish, the first respondent, at The Old Toll Bar in the city, had been left feeling “uncomfortable” by the comment by the pub’s director Ahmed Soliman, the second respondent.
Employment tribunals
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Sinclair worked at the bar from July 2022. She told the tribunal that, while she recognised the comment, made in the summer of 2023, had been said in jest, she had not known how to respond.
A few weeks later, when Sinclair brought in a coffee for a colleague, Soliman asked: “Is that for me?”. Upon learning it was not, he then said, “Oh yeah, forgot you like white people better” and “How was Germany?”.
As Sinclair had no connection with Germany, the tribunal heard, she “interpreted the comment, in light of the earlier remark, as suggesting that she was racist or associated with Nazi ideology. She felt awkward and believed that the second respondent was deriving satisfaction from her discomfort.”
Sinclair was unexpectedly sacked from her job in April of last year, with the reason cited being “poor sales performance”. She was told to leave the bar “immediately”.
However, employment judge Shona MacLean said that, while the bar’s bosses claimed Sinclair was sacked over poor conduct, there was no evidence to support that contention. Moreover, Sinclair’s sales figures were comparable to those of colleagues.
The judge concluded that Sinclair had been “unfairly” dismissed, with the dismissal appearing to be designed to avoid Sinclair acquiring statutory rights by accumulating two years of continuous employment.
Soliman’s comments, meanwhile, had constituted unwanted conduct and had placed Sinclair “in a difficult position”. Sinclair was also awarded £14,500 for unfair dismissal, £2,320 for injury to feelings, including interest, and two weeks’ pay for both breach of contract and failure to provide written reasons for dismissal. In total, the respondents were told to pay her £18,100.
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