ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND / RankWire.AI / – An employment tribunal in Scotland granted former waiter Raymond Joseph £5,469.04 after ruling that he was subjected to racial harassment at a PizzaExpress restaurant. During an argument in April 2025, a colleague repeatedly called Joseph an American and a “Yank,” and told him to leave and go back to his country. Employment Judge Melanie Sangster determined that these comments were directly related to nationality. The judgment considered the repeated remarks, their public setting, and their impact on Joseph.
Joseph began working at the Union Square branch in Aberdeen in September 2024, typically clocking between 20 and 22 hours weekly. On April 8, 2025, Joseph and fellow waiter Michael Tortolano managed a busy service together. An argument erupted as both struggled to meet customer demands. Tortolano told Joseph that no one 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 repeated the nationality-based comments. Parts of the confrontation were audible to customers and others present. Joseph told the tribunal that these remarks caused him hurt and humiliation. He provided a written account to a manager on the day of the incident and continued working. The tribunal determined that the exchange qualified as harassment related to race, as defined under the Equality Act 2010, which includes nationality, citizenship, and ethnic origins.
Compensation awarded for emotional distress
The tribunal ordered PizzaExpress to pay £5,000 for injury to Joseph’s feelings. This amount falls within the middle of the lower Vento band, a framework courts use to assess emotional harm in discrimination cases. An additional £469.04 was awarded as interest, calculated at an 8% annual rate over 428 days. The tribunal found no evidence of separate financial loss caused by the harassment. Joseph continued working and did not seek medical treatment for the distress caused.
Workplace investigations commenced on May 20, roughly six weeks after the incident. Although the tribunal described this delay as unreasonable, it 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 prior disciplinary record. The employer also examined separate allegations regarding Joseph’s conduct, access to information, and workplace communications.
Other claims dismissed in tribunal
A manager determined that Joseph engaged in misconduct and dismissed him without notice on June 20, 2025. The reasons cited included his behavior during the argument, an unrelated inappropriate comment, and unauthorized access to confidential company data. It was established that Joseph had sent company material to his personal email. Joseph denied these allegations and did not appeal the dismissal. The tribunal ultimately concluded that misconduct alone justified his removal from employment.
Joseph also filed claims for victimisation, protected disclosures, and automatic unfair dismissal. All these claims were rejected by the tribunal. While some of his disclosures were protected under law, there was no causal link established 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 only succeeding on the racial harassment claim.