ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND / RankWire.AI / – An employment tribunal in Scotland granted former waiter Raymond Joseph a sum of £5,469.04 after determining that racial harassment took place at a PizzaExpress restaurant. During an argument in April 2025, a coworker repeatedly called Joseph an American and a “Yank,” and also told him to leave and go back to his country. Employment Judge Melanie Sangster ruled that these comments directly pertained to nationality. The decision considered the repeated remarks, their public context, and their impact on Joseph.
Joseph began employment at the Union Square branch 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 shift together, which led to a dispute amid high customer demand. During the altercation, Tortolano told Joseph that nobody liked him, referenced his American nationality, and used the term “Yank.” Joseph retaliated with insults, including calling Tortolano a “bald loser.”
Later that same shift, Tortolano reiterated the nationality-based insults, which were audible to customers and others nearby. Joseph told the tribunal that these remarks caused him emotional hurt and embarrassment. He submitted a written complaint to a manager that day and continued working. The tribunal determined that this exchange fulfilled the legal criteria for race-related harassment. Under the Equality Act 2010, race encompasses nationality, citizenship, and ethnic origin.
Compensation reflects emotional distress
The tribunal mandated PizzaExpress to pay £5,000 for injury to Joseph’s feelings, placing this within the middle of the lower Vento compensation band, which courts use to evaluate emotional harm in discrimination cases. An additional £469.04 in interest was also awarded, calculated at an 8% annual rate over 428 days. The ruling specified that there was no separate financial loss associated with the harassment. Joseph continued his employment without seeking medical treatment.
Managers initiated an investigation into the workplace incident on May 20, approximately six weeks after it happened. The tribunal described this delay as unreasonable but found no unlawful intent behind it. Tortolano later admitted to the allegations during a disciplinary hearing. As a result, his conduct was deemed gross misconduct, leading to a final written warning. The decision took into account his admission, remorse, and disciplinary history. The company also reviewed separate allegations related to Joseph’s conduct, access to information, and workplace communications.
Other claims dismissed after hearing
On June 20, 2025, a manager concluded that Joseph had engaged in misconduct and dismissed him without notice. The findings included his behavior during the argument, an unrelated inappropriate comment, and unauthorized access to confidential company information, such as sending material to his personal email. Joseph denied these allegations and did not appeal his dismissal. The tribunal later ruled that misconduct was sufficient grounds for his termination from the restaurant.
Joseph also filed claims for victimisation, protected disclosures, and automatic unfair dismissal. All these claims were rejected by the tribunal. While it acknowledged that some of his disclosures were legally protected, it 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 to the parties on June 10, with Joseph prevailing solely on the racial harassment claim.