2 weeks Ago By The Telegraph
A Muslim careers adviser sued a charity for racial harassment after she was given a ham wrap at a training event. Asuman Arizie said she felt “deeply depressed” and “utterly let down” after she found pork in the wrap, which she had picked up from a plate marked as halal, a tribunal heard. Colleagues described seeing the careers adviser “accosting” a member of the catering staff, who had been hired by her managers to provide food at the event.
After the incident, Ms Arizie raised a grievance and said the women who prepared the food “probably conspired to put pork on the halal tray and were motivated by racism ”. But this was dismissed by bosses at Shaw Trust, a charity that helps people with complex needs get into work. They said there was “no evidence” the pork was put on the halal plate in a “deliberate attempt to harass or upset particular individuals of Muslim faith ”.
After Ms Arizie was dismissed from the charity for failing her probationary period, she took Shaw Trust to an employment tribunal, repeating her claims. Ms Arizie tried to sue the charity but lost her case because a judge said her bosses had “no liability for acts of harassment by a third party”. ‘Voice raised across the room’ The tribunal, held in south London, was told Ms Arizie started working for the organisation as a careers adviser in April 2022.
In September, she attended a staff training event for the launch of a new contract. During this event, she learnt of new working arrangements that “unsettled” her. It was heard Ms Arizie felt it was “unfair” that as a trainee she was paid less than the qualified advisers but had to carry out additional training.
The tribunal heard she “raised questions from the floor about her own salary and situation”. Employment Judge Eoin Fowell said: “They broke for lunch and Ms Arizie says that she and a friend then removed the cling film from a plate of wraps which was marked halal, took a bite, and found that it had pork in it. We accept that she did eat some pork and that this was very upsetting for her.
“It is not clear whether the mistake was on her part or on the part of the caterers, but she complained immediately to one of the catering staff.” A manager at the event recalled hearing Ms Arizie’s voice raised from across the room, “despite 50 or 60 people chatting over lunch”. It was heard that a catering assistant explained her side of the story and apologised, but Ms Arizie felt the apology “wasn’t sincere”.
The catering company later told bosses at Shaw Trust they would not work with them again because of Ms Arizie’s behaviour. The tribunal said that, after the training event, her “morale and performance deteriorated” and she became significantly more negative about the company. ‘Motivated by racism’ During a probation meeting held the following month, bosses referred to her “conduct and behaviour” after it was heard she had received several complaints from senior management.
In particular, the ham incident was referred to and bosses said that Ms Arizie needed to take “more care” when making statements or asking questions as they can come across as “aggressive”. They then extended her probationary period. Ms Arizie raised a grievance against bosses and referred to the incident, saying that on the day of the staff training exercise, she received no “empathy or support with what I regarded as racial harassment”.
The careers adviser added: “I have taken the advice of a very experienced anti-racism worker. I will now assert that these two women probably conspired to put pork on the halal tray and were motivated by racism.” In a grievance investigation, bosses said “there was no evidence to support the allegation that non-halal food was inserted onto a tray marked vegetarian (or halal) as a deliberate attempt to harass or upset particular individuals of Muslim faith”.
In March, Ms Arizie – who was off sick for two months from December to February – was dismissed. Bosses said she failed her probationary period. After this, she took the charity to an employment tribunal, making various claims including harassment on grounds of race and religion.
Her claims of harassment and indirect discrimination were dismissed. Other claims made by Ms Arizie were dismissed. She won one claim of breach of contract and will receive £1,507.
60 in compensation..
