A Tesco worker is suing the supermarket chain for harassment and race discrimination after a colleague “broke wind in his face”.
Atif Masood, 42, a customer assistant at a branch in Thornton Heath, is demanding £20,000 — claiming the farting amounts to “bullying”.
He says he has not received an apology, and that Tesco has not investigated his complaint properly. Mr Masood claims it was one of a number of acts of less favourable treatment he suffered because of his Muslim background.
Tesco denies the claims despite an internal investigation stating it was found that there was “sufficient evidence” from CCTV footage to support his farting allegation.
In legal papers submitted to the London South employment tribunal, Mr Masood claims there was “too much racism” in the Thornton Heath store, and felt he was discriminated against by colleagues because he was Pakistani.
He claims that WhatsApp messages sent to him were “derogatory” and he felt insulted by alleged comments such as “Muslims are terrorists” and being called “a liar” in front of customers.
The documents, seen by the Standard, claim Mr Masood raised with bosses a “very serious and disturbing act” that in December last year a senior colleague had “broken wind in the claimant’s face”, in the presence of another worker — and that those two members of staff “started laughing at the claimant”.
Mr Masood, through his lawyers, Rahman Lowe Solicitors, alleges it amounted to “unwanted conduct which had the purpose or effect of violating his dignity or creating an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating and/or offensive” [situation], and in the “act of breaking wind in the claimant’s face, a smelly environment for him because of his race”. Mr Masood, who has worked for Tesco since 2006, raised an internal grievance, which in February this year found no evidence of race discrimination and that the statements were made with the intention of being a “joke”.
Although acknowledging that the farting grievance had been upheld, Tesco said the accused colleague “vehemently denies” that he passed wind in Mr Masood’s face. In papers submitted to the tribunal in July, Tesco denied all the claims on behalf of all those accused. Tesco also said in the papers that Mr Masood failed to substantiate his allegations and that his grievance appeal was dismissed after “due consideration”.
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The papers add: “For the avoidance of any doubt, the respondents deny that they discriminated against (whether directly or indirectly), harassed or victimised the claimant because of, or for a reason related to race, religion or belief, as alleged in the claim form, or at all.” The hearing is due to take place next year.
