The Metropolitan Police HR chief has vowed not to act on claims of racism at an employment tribunal before a ruling is handed down.
On Monday, Muslim catering manager Hasanali Khoja, 60, told the tribunal that when he called a meeting to discuss his objections to cooking pork sausages and bacon for religious reasons, his line manager told him he could lose his job if he failed to follow instructions. He added that in a follow-up meeting, an HR manager pulled a face and made a gesture towards Khoja “as if he were an alien”.
Martin Tiplady, the Met’s HR director, said he would not act on the claim of a ‘culture of racism’ within the HR service ahead of the tribunal ruling.
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“We are defending our position in the tribunal robustly, and if the allegation as made is true, we will address that once the tribunal is concluded,” he told Personnel Today.”But we won’t react to these claims until a ruling is handed down.”
The Metropolitan Police Authority is conducting a race and faith inquiry, as an attempt to tackle diversity issues in the Met Police following recent high-profile race controversies. At the latest hearing last month, Tiplady rejected claims there was a “golden circle” of handpicked, white officers in senior posts that created a glass ceiling for minorities.
