Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Age discriminationLatest NewsDepartment for Work and PensionsRace discrimination

DWP must pay woman £400,000 after she wins claim for race and age discrimination

by Jo Faragher 25 Feb 2020
by Jo Faragher 25 Feb 2020 Chris Young/PA Archive/PA Images
Chris Young/PA Archive/PA Images

A woman will receive a payout of almost £400,000 after winning a claim for age and race discrimination against the Department for Work and Pensions.

Anne Giwa-Amu, who is of mixed Nigerian and Welsh descent, started at the DWP branch in Caerphilly as an administration officer in 2017. She was the only non-white recruit and trainee over 50 in her cohort.

Racism and bullying

Race discrimination: Employment law manual 

Line manager briefings: bullying and harassment

The court heard how another DWP had used racist language such as “Paki-lover”, while another had laughed at her and told colleagues that he had “touched her bum”. Giwa-Amu was accused of stealing ice cream, and workers would spray body spray on themselves while next to her.

She went on sick leave in March 2017 and was unlawfully dismissed in October that year for being unable to return to work, according to the tribunal. Her final pay cheque had been withheld and she had been living off £55 per week, the court heard.

Judge Howden-Evans said DWP staff had deliberately created a “hostile environment” for Giwa-Amu and ordered the department to pay out more than £386,000 in compensation, including £42,800 for injury to feelings.

Giwa-Amu told BBC reporters that the court’s decision was a relief “after what has been a harrowing experience for three years”.

“I’ve had to experience real financial hardship and the perpetrators were promoted despite how they had treated me.”

The DWP said that it took the judgment “very seriously” and that racism was unacceptable. It has been ordered to contact the Equality and Human Rights Commission for diversity awareness training and its permanent secretary, Peter Schofield, must directly review her case.

But Giwa-Amu said the department was only “paying lip service to the equality legislation”.

“By protecting offenders, they are promoting a culture of racism,” she said.

Lawrence Davies from Equal Justice, her solicitor, said DWP staff had deliberately set out to “destroy the confidence and wellbeing of a black employee”.

“None of the white DWP staff have been disciplined and some have been promoted,” he said.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

“Given that the DWP serves a high level of ethnic minority claimants, the presence of prejudice in the state benefits system is of grave concern.”

Diversity and inclusion opportunities on Personnel Today

Browse more Diversity and inclusion jobs

Jo Faragher

Jo Faragher has been an employment and business journalist for 20 years. She regularly contributes to Personnel Today and writes features for a number of national business and membership magazines. Jo is also the author of 'Good Work, Great Technology', published in 2022 by Clink Street Publishing, charting the relationship between effective workplace technology and productive and happy employees. She won the Willis Towers Watson HR journalist of the year award in 2015 and has been highly commended twice.

previous post
Atmosphere in Whitehall is ‘poisonous’, unions claim
next post
Eamonn Holmes defeated at IR35 tax tribunal

7 comments

Tim Lister 25 Feb 2020 - 12:45 pm

How can someone be ‘unlawfully dismissed’ if they’ve refused to work for 8 months?

Laura Wilson 26 Feb 2020 - 6:59 am

She was on sick leave. Read the article

Brian 29 Jun 2020 - 9:34 am

I broke my arm, company got rid of me on grounds of capability after 3 months nothing I could do,this amount for her is disgusting,she jumped on racist bandwagon.

Evan 25 Feb 2020 - 10:57 pm

Can’t see how they could have possibly come to that figure based on the allegations in the article. “They sprayed deodorant on themselves” oh the humanity!

Rhys 27 Feb 2020 - 10:03 am

It was reported that she worked for only 4 weeks and went sick in 5th week. I certainly don’t agree with the prejudice meted out but £400,000. Come on!

Mark 16 Oct 2020 - 3:40 pm

Really. Did you not read the high level of racist toxicity directed at this poor woman? Have some heart and empathy! What happened to the white racists who made her life a misery? Do you even really care about this woman. I think £600k would be the fairest result! And some employees to be sacked!

John Phillips 2 Mar 2020 - 12:02 pm

I understand that several of the recruits had never worked before. They probably had no idea of how to behave acceptably in the workplace, in particular the seriousness of discriminatory and harassing behaviour. I wonder if they were made aware of this before they joined the course?

Comments are closed.

You may also like

Restaurant tips should be included in holiday pay

21 May 2025

Fewer workers would comply with a return-to-office mandate

21 May 2025

Redefining leadership: From competence to inclusion

21 May 2025

Pay awards in real terms could fall for...

21 May 2025

Ryanair demands flight attendants pay back salary increase

21 May 2025

Consultation launched after Supreme Court ‘sex’ ruling

20 May 2025

Uncertainty over law hampering legal use of medical...

20 May 2025

Black security manager awarded £360k after decade of...

20 May 2025

Employers ‘worryingly’ ignorant about stress risk assessments

20 May 2025

UK and EU agree to collaborate on ‘youth...

19 May 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+