Just because I dismiss a worker does this make me racist if he is black?

Question

In the last 6 months I employed a guy to do a job, at first he was brilliant and performed all his task's really well, In the last month he was taking liberty's and causing friction with his co workers by not engaging in the work the same as everyone else. It came to a head when a simple problem was blown out of all proportion and he would not accept he had done wrong and tried to "rule the roost", with all of the problems it was clear he was not going to fit in with the type of work we do, so I dismissed him.

As soon as I dismissed him he claimed that he had been racially abused by myself and the other workers.

Race or Religon wher not issues when he was given a job so why should they be an issue when he was dissmissed. I will think very long and hard before I choose my next employee.

Answer 1

If the man did not want to earn his pay he should have gone and applied for welfare instead of a J.O.B. You did the thing that needed doing.

Answer 2

you had every right to dismiss this person. if he was a white guy you would of done the same thing. the sad part of it is they use that for the sake that they can. a white person cant use that what so every. he done wrong and wrong was wrong. there may of been some co-workers that might of said something to him , but you also don't know what he may have said to him first and they have every right to defend there self. and if he wants to say if you were being racist then why did you hire him in the first place. i feel sure you have other non- whites that work there to start with. he just wants to use the whole race as a issue to get something out of it. since they he knew he done wrong. so why not use it to keep a job. so do you have any written warnings that you gave to this guy? normally it's a verbal one first. which they still sign the paper and then it's 2 or 3 written then your out on the street. which they also sign all of them. so if you don't have any thing like that then you maybe be in the wrong. and you really don't know how someone is going to be until after the fact. next time call the references to find out how they really are.

Answer 3

If you are in the UK then he will probably pursue it. But as long as you have good documentation of his negative performance, and that you followed the necessary procedure of the warnings system then you should be fine.

If someone isn't performing well I believe that you have to offer them every chance to improve their performance - additionally they do not have full employment rights until 12 months. Clearly though, if he is claiming you sacked him because of his race and not about his performance he will be able to get around the 12 month rule. I would also suspect it is not the first time he has done this if he was so confident about not improving his performance at work.

If you didn't keep a log, follow the guidance - get yourself a good solicitor and put it down to experience!

Answer 4

From a Human Resources point of view, he is grasping at straws. But when an employee is dismissed, they always want to blame the company.

You did nothing wrong by what you have shared with us. You let an employee free to explore other employment opportunities due to a failure to cooperate with company processes. He didn't care to engage in the assigned work, as did the other employees. He took charge without BEING in charge.

As for crying racism, don't let that ever bother you. It is cried all the time, wrongfully most of the time. If he really wanted to work there, he would have followed the rules and completed the assigned work, wouldn't he? But he DIDN'T want to WORK with you and the others.

You are safe and in the right, let him cry all he wants. Your staff will support you just by declaring the truth. Let that "sour grapes" employee go off and try to make "wine" somewhere else.

Answer 5

No if you are sacking him because he is not performing up to standard thats just the way you would treat any employee, regardless of colour.

If someone tries to play "the race card" and claim their dismissal was race related then let him go to a tribunal - he'll soon be exposed as a liar when he has no proof of this "racial abuse" to show the judge.

Answer 6

That's a problem so many employers face. You have to be fair yet anytime you try and do proper enforcement of any of your regulations.......it simply can't be because they aren't doing their job.....it has to be because of their race. I've worked with many who were exceptional employees. And others who wouldn't do a darn thing with an attitude of "go ahead....just try and get rid of me." We actually had one try and play the race card because she was warned and warned and warned about not being able to wear her fuzzy house slippers to work. It was a big box store. She was on the floor so it wasn't like she was standing behind a register. It's against the health and safety policies. They told her if she had foot problems or something....get a note from the Dr. explaining why slippers were the only footwear she could wear.....something. But no. She didn't win.....but it just goes to show how basic safety rules can turn into the race card. Sad.

Answer 7

It just take one bad apple - doesn't it...but these days it seems to be an easy Kop out to get some Compensation...as soon as the word Racist & Discrimation is used ..Courts & Tribunuals duck for cover.and write the cheque out...without even hearing the employers side of the story. Its a pity it has come to this, but I would tend not to hire any Coloured people -- Because it would only cause problems..In Glasgow we have enough problems with Catholic V Protestant .issues . so it is not me being racist - I am just not in control of the other staffs feelings & views.. which they have their opinion to have - and those sarcastic views seem to upset ethnic minorities..

Answer 8

We all have to be very careful about ensuring our workforce is treated fairly, no matter what race/religion/sex/sexual preference/family responsibilities/etc. they may have. It's complicated.

The BEST thing to do is to DOCUMENT every time there are any incidents. That way if you are ever called into a tribunal you can refer to those documents. Say what your expectations were and why that person did not meet those expectations.

Treat all workers the same and give them objectives and criteria that will let you know if they've met those objectives. And document, document, document. It could save you a lot of legal fees in the long run.

Answer 9

Had an identical problem. As you as someone is dismissed it is like they cannot accept they are wrong and try to make it right for next time, they have to find something else to blame it on.

Our ex-employee tried to take us to Tribunal but it was thrown out as being ridiculous.

If we were racist why would we employ them in the first place.

Good luck

Answer 10

Fire him and don't hire anyone on the protected list. This way if you run into this issue again, you can do your job without problems. This crap is just part of the reason so many companies are going overseas. I hate the idea of how much freedom we have lost because we have to be PC even when someone else is not pulling their weight.

Answer 11

no you are not racist at all, people use this as an excuse sometimes to hide the fact that they are not up to the job it's not a problem and offer a tribunal in fact instigate it first it tends to throw those who are trying to pull the racist card unwarranted on the back foot . but do not hestitae to be biased in you choice of another employee cos not everybody is like that you know!