Bernadette Hayes, who is Irish, began working for Leeds engineering company West Leeds Civils Limited in September 2021, where she faced harassment related to race  and victimisation over a period of six months, between December 2023 and June 2024.

After months of harassment, Hayes resigned from her bookkeeper job in July 2024 and took West Leeds Civils to the employment tribunal, citing racial harassment under section 26 of the Equality Act.

The hearing at Leeds Employment Tribunal heard how Mick Atkins, director of West Leeds Civils repeatedly used ‘offensive and humiliating’ terms to describe Hayes.

Employment Judge Buckley stated: ‘The incidents take place at intervals of between a few days to, at the most, three weeks. The language used by Mr Atkins is either “potato paddy, stupid paddy, or pikey”.’

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