Pizza Express worker wins race harassment case after 'yank' slur

A Pizza Express worker from the US has won a case for race harassment after a colleague told him to ‘Go back to your country, you f**king yank’.

Table of Contents

Raymond Joseph was working as a waiter at a branch of Pizza Express in Aberdeen.

He told the tribunal that early in his employment, he felt that one of his managers did not like him. He complained to the general manager that the manager would “lecture” him about being one minute late.

Joseph also alleged that his manager would round down his working hours and transfer table payments so that he would not receive tips.

In February 2025, Pizza Express encouraged staff to wear uniforms celebrating the chain’s 60th birthday.

Joseph posted on the company’s internal social media page, Slice, because he felt the anniversary clothing looked as though it had a swastika on it. It later removed the uniforms.

He put out a “trigger warning” on the post as the designs could be seen as “highly offensive”, adding “maybe these should be the new head office uniforms!! It’s obvious they never consult with the workers who actually have to wear this garbage.”

He was called into an informal meeting with the general manager following the comments, where they also discussed the fact he regularly sent music to staff members.

It was also alleged he sent a WhatsApp message in the restaurant group chat describing a colleague as looking like “he just got dropped off from a Mumbai helpline call centre”.

Joseph was then sent a “letter of concern” and was reminded of the company’s “community code”.

In April 2025 he got into an altercation with his manager while on a busy shift. The manager said: “Why don’t you just leave, nobody f**king likes you, f**king American, go back to your country you f**king yank.”

Joseph called the manager a “bald loser” and “incel c*nt” in response.

Pizza Express launched an investigation following the incident, but Joseph alleged that he had made protected disclosures about colleagues using cannabis and using vapes at work. He was suspended in June 2025.

A disciplinary hearing found him guilty of gross misconduct and he was given a final warning, then fired at a subsequent meeting.

There was a preliminary hearing in September 2025 where Joseph attempted to make amendments to his claim. During his evidence, he added further detriments and protected acts, which the tribunal allowed to be incorporated into a final list.

At tribunal, Employment Judge Melanie Sangster ruled that the comments made to him during the argument, documented in WhatsApp and by witnesses, amounted to harassment related to race.

However, she ruled that although some of the complaints counted as whistleblowing, this was not the reason for his dismissal so his whistleblowing detriment claims all failed.