Sikh man gets over Rs.18 lakh in racial abuse lawsuit in Scotland
Wednesday, 04/06/2014
http://paper.hindustantimes.com/epaper/viewer.aspx
LONDON: A British Sikh man has been awarded over 18,000 pounds (nearly र 18 lakh) in compensation by a Scottish tribunal for being degraded and racially abused by his Muslim boss and colleagues at work.
Paramjit Singh, a forecourt cleaner at a garage in the town of Greenock, Scotland, was called a ‘lazy low-caste Sikh’ and forced to repeatedly carry out demeaning tasks.
He was also abused for having a white British wife, with a co-worker saying, "I don't know how you can stay with a white woman.
They're not clean and they don't know how to live, " the Scottish Herald reported.
The 39-year-old successfully sued PK Imperial Retail Limited for unfair dismissal and racial and religious discrimination, at a tribunal in Glasgow.
He was awarded 7,162 pounds for unfair dismissal and a further 11,108 pounds in compensation under equality legislation.
The garage was bought over by PK Imperial in September 2011, with the owner’s nephew, Sohaib Riaz, taking over as manager.
He made the Indian-origin Sikh regularly repeat t asks twice or thrice.
"Employment judge Mary Kearns said Singh's dismissal was ‘an act of direct discrimination’," said the judgment.
She called the treatment ‘thoroughly offensive’ and said it ‘upset and humiliated’ Singh.
Solicitor Stephen Smith, of the Glasgow Law Practice, who represented PK Imperial, said: "Our clients were surprised at these claims and are naturally disappointed at the outcome of the tribunal."
Singh, who was represented by Fox and Partners, said he was "very happy" with the outcome of the Case.
