Yahoo Finance Former Lloyds Bank manager wrongfully dismissed for saying racist word awarded £800k
A former Lloyds Bank manager who was fired for using a racist word has been awarded almost £800,000 by the the Employment Tribunal for being wrongfully dismissed.
Carl Borg-Neal was an employee Lloyds Bank until he fired after using the full n-word rather than the abbreviation during one of the bank’s race education training sessions.
In an opinion piece with the MailOnline today, he writes that experience caused him to be “racked by stress” and as a result, he was put “on a cocktail of drugs, from the strong painkiller codeine to anti-anxiety medication”.
The Tribunal outlined that during one of the bank’s race education training sessions discussing intent vs effect, Borg-Neal asked how he should handle a situation where he heard someone from an ethnic minority use a word that might be considered offensive if used by someone not within that minority.
It was noted that he asked the trainer “the most common example being use of the n-word in the black community”, but he used the full word.
Lloyds accepted that he did not intend to cause any hurt or malice but it considered he should have known better than to use the full word in a professional environment.
He also apologised immediately, however, Lloyds was told that the trainer had been off work for four to five days as a result. The bank dismissed him for these reasons.
In the MailOnline, he writes that his dyslexia means he often struggles to articulate himself. He noted that his dyslexia was confirmed by a doctor as part of the subsequent tribunal.
He claimed that after he was fired, his former colleagues were warned against speaking to him by the bank. He stated it was the lowest moment of his life.
The Tribunal handed down its judgement back in August which ruled that he was unfairly dismissed. It also ruled that the bank subjected him to discrimination arising from disability by dismissing him and not upholding his appeal.
When he lodged an appeal with the bank against the decision of firing him, he stated that the disciplinary manager did not properly account for his dyslexia. He explained: “Yet my pleas fell on deaf ears. The judgment had been passed. The company had found me guilty and nothing I could do or say would change that.”
“It felt like a six-month show trial straight out of the Kremlin playbook after which my appeal was turned down,” Borg-Neal wrote.
He noted that this week, this week, he was awarded almost £800,000 in compensation (before legal costs and tax), which sees him take home around £350,000, He also noted that the bank faces a total bill, including fees, of nearer to £1m.
Lloyds Bank has been contacted for comment.
