Peterborough recruitment firm ordered to pay thousands for racially insulting worker

Recruitment Finder Ltd, based in Lincoln Road in Peterborough, was ordered to pay Sonia Noreen more than £22,000 in compensation, owed holiday and redundancy pay, fuel allowances and bonuses after a director used a number of racially offensive terms.

Miss Noreen (28), who is of Pakistani origin, was allegedly told by her boss, Mr Clarke, during three years of derogatory comments about her race and religion that she looked like a ‘curry muncher.’

Mr Clarke also, allegedly, made a racist remark about Ramadan.

As a result tribunal Judge Kurrien awarded Miss Noreen a total of £22,561. The amount included £7,500 for ‘injury to feelings.’ No representatives from Recruitment Finder attended the hearing at Bury St Edmunds.

Judge Kurrien said in a report that throughout her employment Miss Noreen said Mr Clarke made derogatory comments to her about her race and religion, including labelling Ramadan as ‘a load of b******s,’ and used other racist terms.

The judge said the food Miss Noreen brought from home, even a pasta dish, was referred to by Mr Clarke as a curry and told her she looked like a ‘curry muncher.’ .

Mr Clarke was also alleged to have made comments about her weight - but Miss Noreen said she felt unable to do anything about his alleged behaviour because she feared she would lose her job.

The judge said: “The discrimination she was subject to consisted of a series of relatively minor incidents over a period of about three and a half years. I consider an award of £7,500, the upper end of the lower scale, to be appropriate in light of the Vento guidelines and Presidential guidance. I award interest from the mid-point of her employment, September 1 2015, to date, which is 1,465 days, at the statutory rate of 8 per cent, being £1.6438 per day, totalling £2,408.22

“She is entitled to a redundancy payment equal to three weeks pay, £1,185.00.

“She is owed 42 days holiday, on the assumption the holiday year was the same as the calendar year, at a daily rate of £99.00.

“She is owed her bonus of £190 gross for eighteen months.

“She is owed her fuel allowance for 78 weeks at £45 per week.”

Recruitment Finder Ltd has not responded to The Peterborough Telegraph’s request for comment about the case.