Bufordsecurity The security guard was sued for racial harassment after colleagues began calling him “Fat Edouard” – named after the Celtic footballer.
Stephen Kimani complained after colleague Stephen Scobie compared him to a larger version of Parkhead’s cult hero.
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of Kenyan He said the nickname was racist, but the Employment Tribunal ruled that it was an insult related to the word ‘fat’ rather than that he and the French player were both black. .
of Glasgow Kimani started working for HFD Security, which helps protect construction sites, tenant buildings and businesses in Scotland – in September, according to a hearing.
He was assigned to the city’s Bothwell Street scene, where he got into an altercation with a security guard who falsely claimed that he had been fired from his previous job because of his incompetence.
The court heard that Kimani did not accept his colleague’s subsequent apology, and this was when Kimani’s problems began on the scene.
On December 6 of that year, Stephen Scobie told a colleague (who was called WW in court) that Kimani looked “fat”. Edouard,” see those days Celtic football players currently playing for premier league clubs crystal palace.
At the hearing, other colleagues were said to be complaining about Kimani. Among them was a colleague who said Kimani was lazy, so security guards complained that people were “spreading lies” about him.
The court heard that an investigation found Kimani had been mistreated, and sent letters to those involved reminding them to behave in a courteous and professional manner in the workplace.
But later that year, another security guard told a colleague that Kimani didn’t like working with him because he “was terrible at his job.”
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The court heard that Kimani falsified records that same month, saying he had left the scene during his shift and was on patrol while he was not on duty, but Kimani admitted all.
He was suspended for serious misconduct and fired after a disciplinary hearing in December.
At the end of the hearing, Kimani said his colleagues were “colluding against him” because he didn’t like working with “someone from another country.”
After appealing his dismissal, Kimani took the company to court alleging racism and harassment.
Employment Judge Melanie Sangster ruled that his dismissal was fair.
She said: “The reason [Mr Kimani’s] The dismissal was the fact that the respondent believed he had committed gross misconduct by leaving the site without authorization, failing to conduct patrols, and falsifying records indicating he had done so.
“Unnecessary”
“It had nothing to do with race.”
Kimani’s allegations of harassment also failed because, although it was “undesirable” to be called “fat Eduardo”, it had nothing to do with his race.
Judge Sangster said this was because the insulting part of “fat Edouard” was the word “fat”.
She said: “This kind of comment could have had a banning effect, but it came not from comparisons with professionals, but from the use of the word ‘fat’. football player.
“If [Mr Scobbie] just said what i thought [Mr Kimani] If you look like Edouard, it has no prohibited effects and is not harassment.
“The use of the word ‘fat’ to provoke the prohibited effect was irrelevant to race. ”
Odone Edouard signed a four-year contract with Celtic in 2018. He played 94 times for the team, scoring 57 goals.
Edouard was the top goalscorer in the 2019–20 Scottish Premiership with 22 goals and was named SFWA Football of the Year that season.
In 2021, he moved to Crystal Palace.
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