AMERICAN WAITER WINS £5,000 IN RACIAL HARASSMENT CASE

A judge has ruled that calling an American worker a "Yank" and telling them to "go back to your country" constitutes racial harassment under UK employment law. Raymond Joseph, an American waiter at a Pizza Express branch in Aberdeen, brought a claim against the restaurant chain after a co-worker, Michael Tortolano, made the remarks in September 2024. Mr Joseph secured over £5,000 in compensation following the ruling in February 2025.

During his employment at the restaurant, Mr Joseph worked between 20 and 22 hours per week and reported concerns about his treatment by shift manager Evan Baranowski, claiming he would lecture him about minor lateness and was "authoritarian" in his approach. Mr Joseph also alleged that Mr Baranowski rounded down his working hours and transferred table payments so that he would not receive tips. The waiter complained about these issues to general manager Bethany McFarlane. In March 2025, Mr Joseph was called into an informal meeting with Ms McFarlane where his social media posts on the company's intranet, known as Slice, were discussed, along with other workplace matters.

Mr Joseph had posted complaints about 60th-anniversary clothing designs which he said resembled "swastikas" and included a trigger warning. He was subsequently sent a letter of concern and reminded of the company's community code. The ruling establishes that nationality-based insults constitute unlawful racial harassment in UK employment settings. Pizza Express has not yet issued a public statement regarding the judgment.