![\"Irish](\"\/_next\/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcms.joe.co.uk%2Fuploads%2F2026%2F03%2FAdobeStock_1752443520.jpeg%3Fheight%3D683%26width%3D1024&w=360&q=75)
<\/p>\nHe even sent potato in a WhatsApp exchange<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
A bookkeeper from Leeds has won more than \u00a323,000 after an employment tribunal found she had been racially harassed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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And that\u2019s because her boss repeatedly shouted the world \u201cpotato\u201d at her \u201cin a strong Irish accent\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
Bernadette Hayes, an Irish bookkeeper, said that while working for engineering company West Leeds Civils in Holbeck, she suffered \u201ca death by 1,000 cuts\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
She said that between December 2023 and June 2024, the firm\u2019s director, Mick Atkins, also used the terms \u201cpaddy\u201d, \u201cstupid paddy\u201d and \u201cpikey\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
Before awarding the claimant \u00a320,735.91 and ordering the business to give her four weeks’ pay, amounting to \u00a32,800, a judge ruled that the \u201coffensive and humiliating\u201d phrases are \u201covertly linked to race\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThroughout my time at West Leeds Civils, Mr Atkins did make occasional comments about me being Irish. Most in gest (sic), and whilst I knew it was wrong, I tried to accept it as humour\u201d, Hayes said, outlining her claim.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we had a disagreement, he would shout \u2018potato\u2019 in a strong Irish accent over and over again. He done this in front of other members of staff. He would shout \u2018potato\u2019 as soon as he walked in the office without me having even spoke to him\u201d, Hayes continued.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
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The bookkeeper, who was 55 at the time, added that \u201cthis totally eroded my self-respect and my self-esteem. It made me feel small, insecure, violated and extremely anxious. It also made me feel embarrassed.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cI had a huge change in my personal circumstances and I needed my job. I felt trapped and this added to my anxiety. I used to remain quiet so as not to draw attention to myself but even this did not work. He even sent potato in a WhatsApp exchange.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cMr Atkins further called me a gypsy\/traveller due to my Irish heritage. He would constantly say that I was lusting after the travellers outside the office. I felt bullied and harassed by this.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
Hayes took sick leave in July 2024, messaging Mr Atkins: \u201cI do want to leave, I am sorry.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cLife is too short and I have been unhappy for some time, and it’s not fair on either of us to let that continue.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
\u201cThe last six months at this job has made me feel like I have suffered a death by 1,000 cuts\u201d, she said in a document setting out her grievance.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
She added: \u201cDue to working in a hostile and toxic environment my GP signed me off work with work-related stress on 29th July 2024. This is after months of harassment and bullying.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/p>\n
Ms Hayes was later dismissed from the company, while Mr Atkins told the Daily Mail that the proceedings were \u201cnonsense from start to finish\u201d.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n
#Irish #woman #receives #23k #payout #boss #repeatedly #shouted #potato<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
He even sent potato in a WhatsApp exchange A bookkeeper from Leeds has won more than \u00a323,000 after an employment tribunal found she had been racially harassed. And that\u2019s because her boss repeatedly shouted the world \u201cpotato\u201d at her \u201cin a strong Irish accent\u201d. Bernadette Hayes, an Irish bookkeeper, said that while working for engineering […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":4126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[4128,4127,3147,2609,4064,3746,4129,4131,2233,4130,3483,1754],"class_list":{"0":"post-4125","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-featured","8":"tag-23k","9":"tag-bookkeeper","10":"tag-boss","11":"tag-ireland","12":"tag-irish","13":"tag-leeds","14":"tag-payout","15":"tag-potato","16":"tag-receives","17":"tag-repeatedly","18":"tag-shouted","19":"tag-woman"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4125","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4125"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4125\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4125"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4125"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.worldpumpnews.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4125"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}