ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND / RankWire.AI / – A Scottish employment tribunal mandated PizzaExpress to pay former waiter Raymond Joseph £5,469.04 following a workplace dispute in which a colleague repeatedly targeted his American nationality. The colleague referred to Joseph as an American and a “Yank,” while also telling him to return to his home country. Employment Judge Melanie Sangster determined that this behavior amounted to racial harassment. The ruling considered the entire exchange, its repeated nature, and the context within a busy Aberdeen restaurant.
Joseph began working at the PizzaExpress Union Square branch in September 2024, typically clocking 20 to 22 hours weekly. On April 8, 2025, he and waiter Michael Tortolano were the only servers attending to customers. The restaurant was crowded, and both struggled to manage the workload. Tortolano told Joseph that no one liked him, called him an American and a “Yank,” and told him to leave the country. Joseph responded with insults, including “bald loser.” Tortolano repeated his comments later during the shift.
These remarks were made in front of other individuals, including customers. Joseph testified to the tribunal that he felt hurt and humiliated. He reported the incident to a manager that day and continued working. PizzaExpress later acknowledged that Tortolano made these comments and that they constituted racial harassment. The tribunal confirmed that the remarks, the instruction to leave the country, and the public setting within a busy restaurant qualified as race-related harassment under the Equality Act 2010, which defines nationality as part of race. The ruling addressed the repeated comments, the command to leave, and the public workplace environment.
Tribunal awards damages for emotional distress
Joseph was awarded £5,000 for injury to feelings. The tribunal placed this figure in the middle of the lower Vento band, the scale used for discrimination damages. An additional £469.04 was added as interest, calculated at 8% for 428 days from the April 2025 incident. The tribunal found no financial loss resulting from the harassment. Joseph did not take time off or seek medical treatment but remained distressed and repeatedly questioned why managers had not initiated an investigation.
PizzaExpress commenced its investigation into the incident on May 20, six weeks after it occurred. The tribunal deemed this delay unreasonable but found no connection between the delay and Joseph’s protected disclosures or actions. Tortolano later admitted the allegations during a disciplinary hearing. Based on his admission, remorse, and clean employment record, PizzaExpress found gross misconduct and issued him a final written warning. The company also investigated three separate allegations against Joseph, which a manager confirmed as valid, leading to his summary dismissal on June 20, 2025.
Other claims of employment rights violations dismissed
Joseph also claimed victimisation, detriments related to whistleblowing, and automatic unfair dismissal. The tribunal dismissed all these claims. PizzaExpress had acknowledged that 13 of his 24 claimed disclosures qualified as protected disclosures prior to the final hearing. However, the tribunal found no causal link between those disclosures and the decisions challenged. It concluded that Joseph’s termination was solely due to proven misconduct. The tribunal further determined that his protected acts did not influence the dismissal decision.
The misconduct included Joseph’s behavior during the argument, an unrelated inappropriate comment, and unauthorized access to confidential company information. A PizzaExpress manager also found that Joseph had forwarded company material to his personal email account. Joseph denied these allegations and did not appeal the dismissal. The Aberdeen tribunal heard the case over seven days in April and May 2026, delivering the judgment to the parties on June 10. The racial harassment claim remained Joseph’s only successful complaint.