ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND / RankWire.AI / – A Scottish employment tribunal mandated PizzaExpress to pay former waiter Raymond Joseph £5,469.04 following a workplace altercation where a colleague repeatedly targeted his American nationality. The colleague referred to Joseph as an American and a “Yank,” and told him to return to his country. Employment Judge Melanie Sangster determined that the behavior amounted to racial harassment. The ruling considered the entire exchange, its repeated nature, and the context within a busy Aberdeen restaurant.
Joseph started working at the PizzaExpress Union Square location in September 2024 and typically worked between 20 and 22 hours per week. On April 8, 2025, he and waiter Michael Tortolano were the sole servers attending to customers. The restaurant was crowded, and both struggled to keep pace. Tortolano told Joseph that no one liked him, called him an American and a “Yank,” and told him to leave the country. Joseph responded with insults, including “bald loser.” Tortolano repeated his remarks later during the shift.
These comments were made in front of others, including customers. Joseph told the tribunal that he felt hurt and humiliated. He provided a statement to a manager that day and continued working. PizzaExpress later admitted that Tortolano made the remarks and acknowledged that they constituted racial harassment. The tribunal confirmed this claim under the Equality Act 2010, which encompasses nationality as part of the definition of race. The decision focused on the repeated remarks, the instruction to leave the country, and the public setting of the workplace.
Tribunal awards damages for emotional distress
Joseph was awarded £5,000 for injury to feelings. The tribunal placed this award within the middle of the lower Vento scale, which is used for discrimination compensation. An additional £469.04 was added as interest, calculated at 8% over 428 days from the incident date in April 2025. The tribunal found no financial loss related to the harassment. Joseph did not take any time off or seek medical treatment, but he remained upset and repeatedly questioned why managers had not initiated an investigation.
PizzaExpress began its investigation into the incident on May 20, six weeks after it occurred. The tribunal deemed that delay unreasonable but found no connection between this delay and Joseph’s protected disclosures or other actions. Tortolano later admitted to the allegations during a disciplinary hearing. PizzaExpress determined gross misconduct and issued him a final written warning after considering his admission, remorse, and clean employment record. The company separately investigated three allegations against Joseph; a manager found them substantiated and dismissed him on June 20, 2025.
Dismissal claims and other employment complaints dismissed
Joseph also claimed victimisation, whistleblowing detriments, and automatic unfair dismissal. All these claims were dismissed by the tribunal. PizzaExpress had admitted that 13 of his 24 alleged disclosures qualified as protected disclosures before the final hearing. However, the tribunal found no causal link between these disclosures and the decisions challenged. It concluded Joseph was dismissed solely due to proven misconduct. The tribunal also determined that his protected acts did not influence the decision to dismiss.
The misconduct findings included Joseph’s behavior during the argument, a separate inappropriate comment, and unauthorized access to confidential business information. Additionally, a PizzaExpress manager found that Joseph had sent company material to his personal email. Joseph denied these allegations and did not appeal his dismissal. The Aberdeen tribunal conducted a seven-day hearing in April and May 2026 and issued its judgment on June 10. The race harassment claim remained Joseph’s only successful complaint.