Two salespeople who suffered racial discrimination while working on the Stellantis&You dealer group have been awarded hundreds of kilos in damages.
The AM100 dealer group must pay Adebayo (Anthony) Oguntokun £60,500 in damages plus £27,000 interest and £13,000 for future medical treatment after an employment tribunal ruled he had been the victim of significant racial discrimination while working at its dealership in Staples Corner, London.
It must also pay Fardowsa (Fathia) Omar, who worked at the identical dealership as a sales executive, £58,000 damages plus about one other £196,000 for lack of earnings, interest costs and future medical costs, because the tribunal found she was unfairly dismissed and the discrimination she suffered has left her too mentally unwell to seek out recent employment.
The tribunal heard each had suffered discrimination from general manager Matthew Worsley that created a hostile environment for them, and had the effect of violating their dignity.
On at the very least 14 occasions occasion Omar was told by Worsley that she looked like a “Somalian pirate”, the tribunal’s judgement reports, and one at the very least five occasions Worsley sprayed air freshener at her and made offensive comments about “Somali smell”.
And in September 2019 Worsley made a comment about her religion and disgustingly asked if she was “going upstairs to smell the carpet”, tribunal documents state.
Oguntokun had also reported that Worsley racially harrassed him by utilizing the phrase “black b***ard” to check with him, and telling him to cope with “your lot” when black customers were on site – Worsley’s conduct was later dismissed as “banter” by a more senior manager.
Worsley was also accused of bulling Oguntokun into moving from his initial service advisor role right into a automobile sales role when the sales team was understaffed because Oguntokun had previous experience, despite hearing Oguntokun’s objections that he found automobile sales too stressful.
Omar, when interviewed by one other manager because the dealer group investigated Oguntokun’s allegations about Worsley, claimed that there was a culture of racism on the business but that it had not been reported by her or colleagues as they felt that “no person would listen”.
Worsley, who had been working on the dealership since 2016 and have become general manager in 2019 in keeping with tribunal documents, left Stellantis&You in October 2020 after a disciplinary process during which he was suspended after which resigned.
The Staples Corner Vauxhall dealership, which has since closed, was acquired by Robins & Day, now Stellantis&You, from Go Vauxhall.
Stellantis statement in response
In a press release, provided to Automotive Management, Stellantis &You said: “Stellantis &You is fully committed to caring for, and supporting, all of our people. We completely respect the choice of the tribunal and have taken steps to handle the problems raised each prior to, and after, the tribunal.
“Racism has no place in our organisation. We now have made plenty of changes to our procedures including an worker integrity helpline and mandatory diversity and inclusion training plan for all managers.
“We proceed to review our policies and practices to make sure they’re consistent with best practices and legal requirements. We remain fully committed to our employees ensuring a positive working environment.”
This Article First Appeared At www.am-online.com
