Carl Borg-Neal, the former Lloyds worker sacked for asking a clumsy question in a race seminar who with the help of the Free Speech Union won an £800,000 payout, has written about his ordeal and victory in the Mail. Here’s an excerpt.
Unlike several of my colleagues, I was looking forward to attending a mandatory ‘race education’ seminar arranged by my employer, Lloyds Bank.
I was keen to learn more about this important issue and how best to treat my colleagues in the workplace.
But little did I know, as I logged on to the virtual meeting on July 16th 2021, that it would mark the end of my near 30-year career.
Because, in the meeting, I mistakenly uttered the N-word while trying to provide an example of what constitutes inappropriate language after the trainer’s lack of understanding of a question I asked on the subject.
I appreciate that it is a highly inflammatory term, but I had no racist intent at all. I suffer from dyslexia and as a result of my condition I often speak before my brain has had a chance to process my thoughts. This was a typical example of my disability clouding my judgement. It was an honest mistake.
But months later – after a painful and protracted disciplinary process – I was fired for gross misconduct.
Racked by stress, I struggled to sleep and experienced severe back pain. I was put on a cocktail of drugs, from the strong painkiller codeine to anti-anxiety medication. I stopped leaving the house. I couldn’t bring myself to exercise and gave up coaching my local junior rugby team at home in Andover, Hampshire.
I put on weight and my cholesterol rose to a dangerously high level. My friends and family were worried for my wellbeing – but their pain was nothing compared to the shame and terror I was experiencing.
Thankfully, late last year – two-and-a-half years after that fateful seminar – an employment tribunal found I was wrongfully dismissed and discriminated against by Lloyds on the grounds of my disability.
And just this week, I was awarded almost £800,000 in compensation (before legal costs and tax – I will take home only around £350,000) while the bank faces a total bill, including fees, of nearer to £1 million. …
I remember the day of the course vividly. I was working remotely, sitting in my study overlooking a nature reserve. It was a bright, sunny morning and at 11am I logged into the seminar on the Microsoft Teams software, excited to learn more.
It began with warm words from the lead trainer, who happened to be a black lady. She told us to “speak freely” as this was a “safe space” where we need not worry about saying the “wrong thing”. Rather, we were encouraged to “ask questions… learn and be clumsy”.
Perhaps I was being naïve, but I believed her.
After what felt like a didactic lecture on institutional racism, she moved on to telling us about the difference between “intent” and “effect” with regards to language. And so I asked what I thought was a perfectly innocent question: “If you hear a person of an ethnic minority use a word that might be considered offensive if used by a person not of that minority, how should you handle the situation?”
I was concerned about unwittingly saying the wrong thing – and wanted to know how to avoid that.
My dyslexia — which was informally diagnosed during my school years and confirmed by a doctor as part of the subsequent tribunal – means I often struggle to articulate myself.
From the vacant expression of my trainer on screen and the thundering silence that followed my question, I assumed I had not been clear.
This is nothing unusual for me given my dyslexia and I’ve developed a strategy of either rephrasing my point or providing an example.
On this occasion – to my eternal regret – I chose the latter and added: “The most common example being the use of the word ‘n*****’ in the black community.”
In hindsight, of course, I should not have said the word out loud. But it was an honest mistake – and after all, this was a “safe space” for saying “clumsy things”, wasn’t it?
Nothing could have prepared me for the reaction from the lead trainer. She quickly became extraordinarily agitated, shouting at me with wild hand gestures. I tried to apologise but was told to “shut up” or else I’d be kicked out of the meeting. … I would later discover that the lead trainer was so “traumatised” by my language that she apparently took five days off work. …
It was only when I began litigation proceedings against Lloyds in August 2022 that my luck changed. I heard about the Free Speech Union and in February 2023 – in desperation – reached out to them for help.
They instructed Doyle Clayton solicitors – experts in employment law – to fight my case. Finally, in a fair and just hearing over video-link last summer, I was able to explain how my dyslexia had contributed to the case without being ignored or shut down. …
Since news of my victory broke earlier this year, numerous former Lloyds colleagues have sent messages of support. Everyone knows that justice has finally been served.
But the truth is that I lost the job I love and the life I knew. And not because I did anything wrong, but because Lloyds refused to examine properly the case against me – perhaps for fear of being hounded by woke ideologues who smelled the blood of a white middle-aged man. Lloyds was never “by your side”, as its adverts claim.
I do not expect an apology – but I hope that my case sets a precedent for others suffering similar injustice.
Worth reading in full.
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