British woman wins discrimination case over Russian accent
Moscow, 2nd of September, Vesti. The UK's Her Majesty's Revenue and Customs (HMRC) will pay more than $22,000 to a trainee employee as compensation for racial discrimination.
Consensus
- The woman is a British national of Armenian origin.
- She spoke English fluently but had a noticeable Russian accent.
- The incident occurred during an onboarding session in 2022 at the UK's Tax and Customs Authority.
- A safety pin from her bag fell off, and her supervisor claimed it could be a listening device.
- The supervisor's comment was ruled by the court as direct racial discrimination.
- The court found that similar suspicions were not raised about other trainees perceived as non-Russian.
- The woman was also pressured to repeat her probation period and falsely accused of making pro-Russia remarks.
- She was awarded compensation of £16,506, including £14,000 for moral damages and interest.
- The ruling was based on a decision from the Edinburgh court.
- The case was reported by the journal People Management.
Points of divergence
- The woman was from Armenia and had a Russian accent because it was her native language. — vm
- The woman was described as a British national of Armenian origin, with a Russian accent, but the source does not state that Russian was her native language. — vesti
- The woman was required to participate in a video call with the camera on, which was part of the case. — vm
- No mention is made of the video call requirement in the report. — vesti
Coverage (4 sources)
- In Britain, an intern won $22k for discrimination due to Russian accent — Вести
- British woman with Russian accent wins discrimination case against her firm — Вечерняя Москва
- In Britain, woman sues for $22,000 for discrimination due to Russian accent — Вести
- Intern in Britain awarded compensation due to discrimination for Russian accent — Вечерняя Москва