ABERDEEN, SCOTLAND / RankWire.AI / – A Scottish employment tribunal has directed PizzaExpress to pay former waiter Raymond Joseph £5,469.04 following a workplace dispute in which a colleague repeatedly targeted his American nationality. The colleague referred to Joseph as an American and a “Yank,” while also telling him to return to his country. Employment Judge Melanie Sangster determined that this behavior amounted to racial harassment. The ruling covered the entire exchange, its repeated nature, and the context of the busy Aberdeen restaurant where it took place.
Joseph began working at the PizzaExpress Union Square outlet in September 2024 and typically clocked 20 to 22 hours per week. On April 8, 2025, he and waiter Michael Tortolano were the only staff serving customers. The restaurant was crowded, and both staff members found it challenging to keep up. Tortolano told Joseph that nobody 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 publicly, in front of other customers and staff. Joseph testified to the tribunal that he felt hurt and humiliated. He reported the incident to a manager on the same day and continued working. PizzaExpress later admitted that Tortolano made the remarks and that they amounted to harassment based on race. The tribunal upheld this claim under the Equality Act 2010, which includes nationality within the scope of race. The decision took into account the repeated nature of the remarks, the directive to leave the country, and the fact that the incident occurred in a public workplace.
Tribunal awards damages for emotional distress
The tribunal granted Joseph £5,000 for injury to feelings. The amount was positioned in the middle of the lower Vento band, which is used to determine compensation for discrimination cases. An additional £469.04 in interest was added, calculated at 8% for 428 days from the incident 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 remained distressed and repeatedly questioned why managers had not initiated an investigation.
PizzaExpress started its investigation into the incident on May 20, six weeks after it occurred. The tribunal regarded this delay as unreasonable but found no connection between the delay and Joseph’s protected disclosures or other actions. Tortolano later admitted to the allegations during a disciplinary hearing. PizzaExpress found gross misconduct and issued him a final written warning after considering his admission, remorse, and clean employment record. Separately, the company investigated three allegations against Joseph. A manager found these to be substantiated and dismissed him summarily on June 20, 2025.
Dismissals and other employment claims rejected
Joseph also claimed victimisation, whistleblowing detriments, and automatic unfair dismissal. The tribunal dismissed all these claims. PizzaExpress had acknowledged that 13 of his 24 disclosures qualified as protected disclosures prior to the hearing. However, the tribunal determined there was no causal link between these disclosures and the decisions made. It concluded that Joseph’s termination was solely due to proven misconduct. The tribunal also found that his protected acts did not influence the dismissal decision.
The misconduct included his behavior during the argument, a separate inappropriate comment, and unauthorized access to confidential business information. A PizzaExpress manager also found that Joseph had sent company material to his personal email. Joseph denied these allegations and did not appeal the dismissal. The Aberdeen tribunal conducted a seven-day hearing in April and May 2026. The judgment was issued to the parties on June 10. The race harassment claim was the only successful complaint Joseph filed.