Employment tribunal awards nearly £11,000.00 to man told not to speak his native Swahili in workplace

Mr K Ruiza was first instructed by his line manager to only speak English whilst at work during his employment at Nuclear Restoration Services Limited (NRS) in August 2023. NRS stated that the manager had acted in response to complaints of other employees.

Ruzia was left aggrieved by the instruction and was affected emotionally to the point where the decision impacted him outside of the workplace.

Ruzia raised a grievance regarding the instruction in January 2024 where it was concluded by his employer that he was not subject to race discrimination – this further exacerbated Ruzia’s concerns. It was found by the tribunal that Ruzia’s manager failed to realize the offensive nature of her remarks and that NRS failed to resolve any difficulty experienced by Ruzia as a result of the instruction.

The tribunal was told that the claimant had been directed to stop speaking Swahili during his break, effectively preventing him from communicating with his family. When implementing workplace policies and blanket rules, employers must carefully consider commerciality against the potential that such policies may be discriminatory.

The tribunal maintained that NRS should have made considerations to the fact that English was not Ruzia’s first language and that employees should not be restricted from using their native language outside of working hours i.e. their lunch break.

The tribunal concluded that the matter could have been resolved during the grievance process if it was correctly handled and appropriate consideration was made to Ruzia’s concerns. The tribunal ruled the company must pay £9,000 for injury to feelings, plus £1,875.94 in interest, bringing the total award to £10,875.94.

If an employee has raised a grievance or is making complaints of discrimination in the workplace, we would strongly advise that you take specific advice from our employment team on 0330 088 2275 or employment@buxtoncoates.com.