A care worker has won her claims for direct race discrimination and harassment after colleagues excluded her by speaking a foreign language during a meeting.
The judge at the employment tribunal in Glasgow ruled that colleagues speaking in Polish at a supervision meeting “created an intimidating, degrading or humiliating environment” for the claimant.
Ms Kellington-Crawford began working for Newlands Care Angus in Scotland in February 2022 as a care assistant, before being promoted to senior care assistant in October 2022. She was dismissed in January 2023.
Race discrimination
Prison officer wins unfair dismissal and harassment case after IRA taunts
The tribunal noted that most of Newlands’ 45 employees were Polish; some could speak English fluently, while others had more limited English skills.
The care provider had a policy whereby only English may be spoken during visits to service users, except where care assistants would find it more expedient to speak Polish between themselves. On such an occasion, the permission of the service user must be sought first.
At Newlands’ office, English is the main language spoken, but given that all members of the management team are Polish, that language is often used.
During her employment, Kellington-Crawford faced a number of issues relating to booking a period of compassionate leave and holiday, not returning a company car to where she found it, and returning the car with paw prints inside it.
She was also criticised for aspects of her care recorded during visits to service users’ homes, which she disputed.
Foreign language
On 14 December 2022, she was called into a “support supervision” meeting with three female bosses, Ms Berent, Ms Masiak and Ms Natzel, which followed a disciplinary meeting a week before.
The tribunal heard that they spoke to each other in Polish at various points in the meeting. Kellington-Crawford was told she had put something inappropriate in a group chat, but Masiak did not elaborate on the details.
The claimant felt uncomfortable, and she felt she was being discussed and criticised without knowing what was being said.
The tribunal accepted that, unlike in other interactions heard by the panel, this meeting “crossed the threshold by being something that the claimant did reasonably believe to have violated her dignity or created an intimidating, degrading or humiliating environment for her.
“She was outnumbered and the only one who could not understand anything being said in Polish.”
The judgment added: “Given the importance of the meeting and the sensitivity of the matters under discussion, it was reasonable that she felt intimidated and humiliated.
“The tribunal did not find that the conduct complained of had this as its purpose – in other words, those speaking Polish did not intend to harass the claimant by doing so – but it did have that effect and it was reasonable for the claimant to feel that way.”
Race discrimination
The claimant did not nominate a comparator for the complaint, but the tribunal considered that it would be an employee attending a meeting for the same reasons as the claimant, but who could understand Polish.
The judgment said: “Although the ability (or lack of ability) to speak the language of a nation is not the same as being of that nationality itself, the two can be linked closely enough that treating an employee a certain way because of that ability, or lack of it, can be ‘because of’ the protected characteristic of race.”
The tribunal panel upheld the claims of direct race discrimination and harassment arising from the meeting and ordered Newlands Care Angus to pay Kellington-Crawford £2,500 in compensation for injury to feelings.
All other claims brought by Kellington-Crawford, including age discrimination, whistleblowing detriments and unfair dismissal, were dismissed.
Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance
Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday
Latest HR job opportunities on Personnel Today
Browse more human resources jobs
