Care worker wins race discrimination case after colleagues spoke Polish in meeting

Kellington–Crawford v Newlands Care Angus Ltd

In Kellington–Crawford v Newlands Care Angus Ltd, an English care worker succeeded in claims of race discrimination and harassment after a disciplinary meeting where her three Polish managers spoke to each other in Polish. The employee said that, because she didn’t speak Polish, she felt intimidated and isolated. Ironically, the employee had been called to the meeting over alleged inappropriate messages.

The tribunal found that the managers’ conduct (speaking in Polish) had a harassing effect, which violated the employee’s dignity and created an intimidating environment – even though there was no malicious intent. The tribunal also upheld her claim for direct race discrimination. It found that the claimant, as the only non–Polish speaker, had been treated less favourably compared to someone who could understand the language. Had a Polish–speaking person attended the same meeting, they would have been able to follow and respond to the discussion — and potentially would not have been spoken about in the same way.

The claimant was awarded £2,500 for injury to feelings.

Lessons for employers and HR professionals

• Set expectations around language use – Ensure that meetings, particularly formal ones, are conducted in the common workplace language if participants do not all share the same first language.
• Focus on inclusion – Using a language not understood by everyone present can create exclusion, undermine trust, and in some cases, amount to discrimination or harassment.
• Train managers – Raise awareness of inclusive communication practices and the risks of inadvertent exclusion.

A blanket ban on foreign languages is obviously not the answer, but clear guidance and thoughtful communication can help avoid similar claims.

Further reading

• Discrimination – Your rights – Gov.uk
• Your rights under the Equality Act 2010 – EHRC
• The Equality Act 2010 – Gov.uk