Man sacked for saying ‘top of the morning to ya’ to his manager in Irish accent

A storeman was sacked after saying ‘top the morning to ya’ to a colleague in a mock Irish accent – but he has now won more than £16,000 after a judge deemed it an unfair dismissal

A warehouse worker who was dismissed after greeting a colleague with “top the morning to ya” in a mock Irish accent has been awarded more than £16,000 for unfair dismissal. Karl Davies, aged 57 at the time, was employed at Wrexham’s Oscar Mayer ready meal factory when he addressed manager Scott Millward using the accent whilst listening to Irish music on August 13, 2024, an employment tribunal was told.

Mr Millward was accompanying a “red-headed” external auditor when the comment was made, prompting him to report his colleague to the company, which subsequently investigated whether the remarks constituted racial harassment, the Mold tribunal heard.

The claimant repeated the expression several times, with tribunal Judge Vincent Ryan acknowledging that he was “effectively channelling the musical vibe”.

The judge ruled that Mr Davies used an accent in a “reprehensible” and “mocking” manner and provoked Mr Millward by repeating the phrase “in a manner that Mr Millward was bound to find irritating and embarrassing”.

He determined that the claimant was attempting to wind up Mr Millward to provoke a response and cause him embarrassment.

He continued: “I find that the purpose was not to racially harass Mr Millward, and there is no evidence before me that it had the effect, either, on anyone.

“It was nevertheless blameworthy as (Mr Davies) was subordinate to Mr Millward.

“It gave rise to the disciplinary proceedings and therefore contributed to the eventual sanction.”

The claimant was unfamiliar with and had not met the auditor, who is not known or believed to be Irish, the tribunal heard.

A manager, with whom Mr Davies had an unresolved grievance, led the investigation into Mr Davies’s comments, the tribunal was informed.

The judge noted that Oscar Mayer’s disciplinary case was based on its perception that Mr Davies may have thought that the auditor looked “typically Irish”.

Mr Davies’s phrase was deemed by his employer to constitute harassment, but his clean disciplinary record and 27 years of service for the company were not considered, the judge determined.

The tribunal concluded that the chosen investigator was not “appropriate”, witness statements were inconsistent and the investigation was “largely based on assumptions”.

The judge stated: “The claimant was accused of using an employment ending, reputation damaging, loss-inducing, racially motivated slur, a slur which could have created an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive working environment; these are serious matters.

“On the facts peculiar to this case, I found that the dismissal was unfair, which does not mean that I approve the use of the greeting in question or the use of mock accents.”

He added that the case was “not an indication of wokeness or anti-wokeness”.