"Throughout my time at West Leeds Civils, Mr Atkins did make occasional comments about me being Irish. Most in jest, and whilst I knew it was wrong, I tried to accept it as humour. But his behaviour ramped up after his friend Marcus Smith became involved in the business, and if we had a disagreement, he would shout 'potato' in a strong Irish accent over and over again, in front of other staff members."
"This totally eroded my self-respect and my self-esteem. It made me feel small, insecure, violated and extremely anxious. It also made me feel embarrassed. I had a huge change in my personal circumstances and I needed my job. I felt trapped and this added to my anxiety. I used to remain quiet so as not to draw attention to myself but even this did not work."
"Mr Atkins further called me a gypsy/traveller due to my Irish heritage. He would constantly say that I was lusting after the travellers outside the office. I felt bullied and harassed by this."
Bernadette Hayes, a 55-year-old Irish employee at West Leeds Civils engineering company, experienced sustained racial harassment between December 2023 and June 2024. Director Mick Atkins repeatedly used offensive ethnic slurs including 'paddy,' 'stupid paddy,' and 'pikey,' and would shout 'potato' in a mock Irish accent at her, sometimes unprovoked. The harassment intensified after a business associate joined the company. Hayes described the cumulative effect as 'a death by 1,000 cuts,' causing severe emotional distress, anxiety, and erosion of self-esteem. Employment Judge Sophie Buckley ruled the phrases were overtly linked to race and awarded Hayes £20,735.91 in compensation plus four weeks' pay of £2,800.
Read at Irish Independent
Unable to calculate read time
Collection
[
|
...
]