It’s a wonderful thing that workplaces are often multicultural environments, and a reality that in many workplaces in the UK workers will speak different native languages.
Employers have a fine line to tread if they try to manage this – if you allow everyone to speak their own languages, then communication may suffer and some workers may feel excluded. By contrast, if you insist that English is spoken at all times and in all circumstances, you may risk a claim of race discrimination.
P F Franco v Fyffes Group Limited
In the case P F Franco v Fyffes Group Limited, Mr Franco claimed that some of the line supervisors conducted discussions in Polish and applied for a Provision, Criterion or Practice (PCP) which put persons who shared the characteristic of not speaking Polish, including him, at a disadvantage.
Mr Franco, even though he wasn’t English himself, thought all employees should be required to speak English. The tribunal considered that Fyffes could objectively justify this PCP.
- They had reminded staff to be considerate of the needs of others who did not speak their mother tongue.
- Allowing people who shared a language to communicate in it was likely to lead to clearer communication. The balance would only be tipped when someone who didn’t speak that language was in the conversation.
Konieczna v Whitelink
In Konieczna v Whitelink, the employer was criticised for requiring employees to speak English at all times in the workplace, regardless of their native tongue. Their blanket requirement to speak English wasn’t justified, and amounted to race discrimination.
Kellington-Crawford v Newlands Care Angus
Read our blog, Care worker wins race discrimination case after colleagues spoke Polish in meeting.
A sensible approach
- Assess the risks in your workplace of employees not always speaking a common language.
- Consider the circumstances where it may be OK for employees to speak in their native tongue – for example, during tea breaks or during social activities, and consider where there is a case for interactions to be in English – for example issuing and responding to instructions.
- Document the business position on language at work and communicate it to all employees – with regular reminders if behaviour begins to slip.
- Encourage employees to be mindful of the language they choose and encourage clarity in communications.
- Remind employees that there is an expectation to include non-English speakers in workplace conversations. Equally, if you have a group of non-native English speakers who have a tendency to converse in their own language – remind them that this, in itself, could leave those who do not speak their language feeling uncomfortable (as happened in Kellington-Crawford above).
The Equality Act 2010 Employment Code of Practice contains further practical guidance on this issue (see paragraph 17.44 onwards).
