CAA helps Jewish victim of unfair dismissal to achieve major settlement
Campaign Against Antisemitism has assisted a Jewish victim of unfair dismissal to vindicate his complaint against his former employer and achieve a major compensation package.
The victim was invited by his line manager to wear a kippah (skullcap) to a Jewish religious event that the company was hosting two weeks later. Having already intended to wear a kippah for the event, which he always prefers to do at Jewish occasions, the victim agreed.
On the day of the event in question, the victim arrived wearing a kippah, however a supervisor approached the victim and relayed a message from a different manager directing him not to wear the kippah. The victim explained to the supervisor that, as this was a Jewish event, he was wearing the kippah, as he had always done at such events. The supervisor explained that he was merely relaying the message from the manager. The victim ignored the request to remove the kippah and continued working.
An hour later, the manager approached the victim and asked him to remove his kippah. The victim politely refused, even when the manager insisted. Asked again by the manager why he was wearing it, even though it was not part of the uniform, the victim replied: “It’s a religious event, I have worn the kippah at every Jewish event throughout my life. I won’t take it off, but you can dismiss me.”
The manager retorted: “Go then, you’re dismissed”. He allegedly gestured with his hand in a disdainful manner, clearly instructing the victim to go while looking away.
The victim stopped working and turned to leave. As he was on his way out, the victim turned and said: “I want a written reason for my dismissal.”
The manager reportedly yelled at him aggressively: “Reason? No reason! No one else is wearing one, it is not part of the uniform, everyone is wearing the uniform, it’s like you’re doing your own thing! I am happy for you to stay, but not wearing this!”
The victim again refused to remove the kippah, to which the manager reacted: “Go then, you’re dismissed”, waving to the door. The victim said his goodbyes to his colleagues and left.
The victim reported feeling grossly discriminated against, noting that religious symbols were worn openly at the company by staff from other religious communities, including Christians and Muslims. “I feel angry, hurt and upset,” he told Campaign Against Antisemitism. His feelings of distress and anger did not subside for several weeks, during which he suffered from poor sleep, nightmares and anxiety. He also felt nervous about displaying any Jewish symbols, including the Star of David, or his kippah. These effects were in addition to the financial cost of the dismissal.
He was also deeply insulted by the manager’s suggestion that “I am happy for you to stay, but not wearing this,” which the victim interpreted as essentially meaning that “You can work here, as long as you don’t look like a Jew.”
Campaign Against Antisemitism was proud to provide the victim with legal assistance and other support, all free of charge. The lawsuit was settled with a considerable compensation package for the victim, part of which he is very kindly donating to us, so that we can assist others like him who suffer discrimination at work or elsewhere.
The victim was assisted by Jamie Susskind, as counsel, and by Asserson Law Offices, as solicitors.
A spokesperson for Campaign Against Antisemitism said: “What happened to this young victim was utterly appalling. Such racist conduct is abusive and can leave lasting effects. We are proud that this victim stood up for his rights and that he had the courage to come to us and see this case through. The business entirely deserves the financial penalty that it has had to pay. Hopefully it will think twice in future before telling its workers that they cannot engage in perfectly reasonable expression of their religious identities. We are delighted to have secured justice for this victim, and hope that it serves as an example to other victims to come forward.”
If you believe that you may be the victim of antisemitic discrimination at work or elsewhere, please record or write down details of the incident and contact us urgently – as time is often of the essence in such legal cases – at [email protected].
Image credit: JoshMB
