racist remark at work

[liblob]

a collegue of mine said  the abbreviated word for "pakistani's" ( ab won't let me put the word in) whilst under duress speaking to a call centre, whom she couldn't understand, as many have moved to india. she is having a formal complaint made against her. she immediately apologised and also gave her apology in writing. could she still lose her job?

[ELVIS 68]

I can`t see what the fuss is about, I would`nt get offended if someone called me a Brit.

[Sasha13]

Who is making the complaint? Was the phone call being made as part of work, or was it a personal call?

[Mistopheles]

Technically it's possible, but an official warning is more likely. It's a tough boss who would fire her provided she has apologised. This is of course presuming it was made in the course of her employment - otherwise I don't think it could affect her job at all. Unless she was actually prosecuted (EXTREMELY unlikely unless she's done it a lot) and worked in a vunerable sector - children etc.

[liblob]

she had just had a car accident, on her way home from work, was brought back to work, and was calling a call center to arrange a curtesy car through her insurance. she's realy stressed at present due to the company taking it's time investigating

[snapdharlich]

It doesn't matter - this country ( I believe it is UK you are from ) is PC mad. As soon as you do something like that, you are in trouble. Pathetic I know. If you called someone a Scouser, jock, yank, etc it would be classed as banter, but include someones skin colour and everything else goes out of the window.  I know quite a few coloured people (sorry for that description) who have very colourful language for other races. I am in no way condoning their actions, but if you take it, shouldn't you be allowed to give it?

[andy hughes]

The cultural issue is that the word is used as a derogatory term - and your friend is obviously aware of that, hence her contrition.

I hope Mistopheles is right - it was an inappropriate remark, but she is aware of that, and has made proper redress - hopefully a warning will be seen as appropriate.

[undercovers]

if it was outside working hours and not to do with her job then i think it would be hard for the company to fire her, for a personal matter that does not affect them

[Hermia]

That word is not considered racist everywhere. When I was in America I heard an American/Pakistani guy using it and I was a bit taken aback. He had no idea that it was considered racist in the UK and he said it was just used to describe someone from Pakistan in the same way we'd use 'Brit'.

My colleague nearly got the sack after making a racist comment about a black member of staff. The fact that the black member of staff (i) objected to the complaint being made and (ii) was best mates with my colleague and often indulged in near-the-knuckle p***-taking with him wasn't taken into account.

I'm sure that if your colleague apologies and explains that she knew it was an inappropriate remark AND explains what prompted her to say it she'll be okay.

[wingnut1]

I think its a real shame that your colleague is being investigated about this.  In my opinion, if it was outside working hours and she wasn't conducting her employer's business when she made the comment, it should be between her and the company she was contacting as to whether the matter was looked into (by the way, how did her employers find out?  was it a company car/insurance?).  As a white person I find it extremely insulting that we can be called racists for making derogatory comments, but if a person of another race calls us a derogatory name, we have to take it on the chin.  PC madness - and this country is getting worse.

[Octavius]

We only have ourselves to blame though, the word became offensive during the 1960s when used by British tabloids to reffer to immigrants in a derogotary and racist manner. In recent times there has been a trend by second and third generation British Pakistanis to reclaim the word, eg the clothing comany PAK1.

If you used the term Brit in Northern Ireland it would be seen as derogatory or a racist slur.  I believe there are many words that would be seen as derogatory or racist to British people, in recent times the word Chav.

I think your friend having apologised for the one-off(?) occasion will be reprimanded with a warning.  Usually where it is consistent and agressive, or directed at individuals or specific groups that further action would be taken.  It isn't pc gone mad if people are genuinely offended.

[Octavius]

On a further point, from your employers' perspective, your employer is legally liable under the Race Relations Act 1976 (RRC76) and are responsible for ensuring that there is no racism in the workplace.

In legal jargon this is known as �vicarious liability�. The employer can only avoid taking the blame if he or she can show that they have taken reasonable practical steps to prevent discrimination. This should include taking disciplinary action against anyone guilty of racist behaviour.

Basically, according to the law they must act.