Sunmugaraja v Royal Mail - case law on harassment and discrimination

A former area manager at Royal Mail's Cardiff centre was called a 'dog' and mistaken for being Muslim - when he was in fact of Hindu faith - which the tribunal found amounted to acts of discrimination.

Let's get into the detail. In June 2017, a worker who had been refusing to undertake the tasks instructed by Mr Shunmugaraja called him a 'sly dog' which left the claimant so upset that he had to leave a meeting.

He told the Cardiff employment tribunal that he found the phrase deeply offensive, and the tribunal agreed it would be perceived as an insult in many cultures and could have racial connotations.

The second incident, which took place in August 2017, involved an altercation with an employee Mr Day outside the mail centre's 'quiet room', which was often used as a place to pray.

Mr Shunmugaraja had booked the room to conduct a short training session, but a Mr Day, a Christian, aggressively challenged his use of the room and suggested that he should the [Muslim] prayer room instead. The tribunal considered this discrimination based on his perceived religion.

Mr Shunmugaraja complained about this treatment in writing and calling the experience with Mr Day 'very frightening'. He did not receive a response so he complained to the central HR team, allegin that he had been bullied and harassed on account of his religion.

In October of 2017 Mr Shunmugaraja received a response from the employee relations team which stated that they did not accept bullying and harassment complaints from managers against their subordinates and suggested that he should address it as a formal conduct matter instead.

A colleague on the same grade as Mr Shunmugaraja attempted to investigate the complaint, but Mr Shunmugaraja thought that the investigation would not be conducted impartially and requested an independent person to step in. This request was ignores.

In November, Mr Shunmugaraja became unwell with sharp pains in his neck and shoulder at work. Hi GPO attributed this to anxiety and tied it to the harassment at work. He was signed off sick. He had also been taking anti-depressants since the incident.

In mid-December, he attended a meeting with the late shift manager, a Mr Colclough and another employee to discuss his illness and when he planned to return to work. Mr Shunmugaraja told the tribunal that Colclough was sensitive to his situation during the meeting and said he would keep in touch. Two days later though he received a letter from Colclough that told him if he didn't return to work then sick pay would be withheld.

Mr Shunmugaraja sick pay was stopped and he was subsequently dismissed on 23 January 2018.

The tribunal found this letter to be an act of victimisation and unlawful discrimination. The judge said "it was totally inappropriate, given that it was written to an employee that was off work with work-related stress.".

The stress has such an impact on Mr Shunmugaraja that he became homeless and was unable to pay his debts. He was unable to get any government support as he didn't have an address and was unable to find suitable alternative employment through to the time of his remedy hearing now in November of 2020.

Employment tribunal Judge Howden-Evans ordered Royal Mail to pay Mr Shunmugaraja £34,574.80 in injury to feelings (top band of Vento), including interest. She also further ordered them to pay past losses at £70,164.26 and future losses of £129,178.25. She also took the unusual step of ordering the respondent to provide a letter of apology to the claimant to assist with his future search for work.