ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND / RankWire.AI / – A Scottish employment tribunal awarded former waiter Raymond Joseph £5,469.04 after determining racial harassment occurred at a PizzaExpress restaurant. During an argument in April 2025, a coworker repeatedly referred to Joseph as an American and a “Yank.” The colleague also told Joseph to leave and go back to his country. Employment Judge Melanie Sangster ruled that these comments were directly related to nationality. The decision took into account the repeated remarks, their public setting, and their impact on Joseph.
Joseph began employment at the Union Square location in Aberdeen in September 2024, typically working between 20 and 22 hours weekly. On April 8, 2025, Joseph and fellow waiter Michael Tortolano managed a busy service together, which led to an argument amid the pressures of customer demand. Tortolano told Joseph that nobody liked him, referenced his American nationality, and used the word “Yank.” In response, Joseph called Tortolano a “bald loser.”
Later that same shift, Tortolano repeated the nationality-based insults. Some parts of the confrontation 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 determined that the exchange met the legal criteria for harassment related to race. Under the Equality Act 2010, race encompasses nationality, citizenship, and ethnic origins.
Compensation acknowledges emotional harm
The tribunal ordered PizzaExpress to pay £5,000 for injury to Joseph’s feelings, placing this amount within the middle of the lower Vento compensation band, a framework used by courts to evaluate emotional distress in discrimination cases. An additional £469.04 in interest was awarded, calculated at an 8% annual rate over 428 days. The tribunal found no evidence of separate financial loss related to the harassment. Joseph continued working without medical treatment.
Workplace investigations began on May 20, roughly six weeks after the incident. The tribunal deemed this delay unreasonable but found no unlawful motive behind it. Tortolano later admitted to the misconduct during a disciplinary hearing, leading to a final written warning. The company considered his acknowledgment, remorse, and disciplinary history in their decision. Separate allegations concerning Joseph’s conduct, data access, and workplace communication were also reviewed.
Other claims rejected at hearing
A manager found Joseph guilty of misconduct and dismissed him without notice on June 20, 2025. The misconduct included his behavior during the argument, an unrelated inappropriate comment, and 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 concluded that misconduct alone justified his removal from the restaurant.
Joseph also filed claims for victimisation, protected disclosures, and automatically unfair dismissal. The tribunal dismissed all these claims. It acknowledged that some of his disclosures were legally protected, but 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 tribunal issued its judgment on June 10, with Joseph prevailing only on the racial harassment claim.