AN ASIAN-ORIGIN man won a case against his boss for not calling his name correctly at an employment tribunal, and he was awarded £9,000 for being a victim of race harassment, The Telegraph reports.
A tribunal in Watford heard that Viveak Taneja, a British Indian, who worked at Phoenix Whirlpools, was repeatedly called “Vikesh” by sales director Dana Davies.
The tribunal heard that Taneja was one of the best salesmen at the firm, which he joined as an area sales manager in 2021.
However, a year later his ties with Davies became sour and they began to have frequent arguments.
Davies was unhappy with Taneja's performance and referred to him as “Vikesh” on two separate occasions. Each time, he was corrected, but Davies did not apologise for the errors.
Matters came to a head when the two met at a cafe to discuss Taneja's work performance.
The panel heard that Davies used the name “Vikesh” twice more to refer to Taneja. After the third time, Taneja got angry and walked away.
Later they again got into an altercation and Davies blocked Taneja’s route to his car.
Davies warned that he would be terminated if he drove off, but Taneja refused to comply.
Taneja was terminated on that day and he approached the tribunal.
Employment judge Sally Cowen said the tribunal accepts that Taneja has a genuine emotion and sensitivity about his name, as it holds a significant meaning in Hindi.
The judge said Davies "acted in a manner which was arrogant and lacked respect towards [Taneja] to acknowledge his name, or take any time or effort to correct himself or to recognise his inappropriate behaviour.”
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