It is not seen as rude if individuals do not use the word ‘please’ …

In a unanimous judgment by the employment tribunal, the judge dismissed a case brought by a London chef who was sacked after refusing to do tasks until asked politely. The tribunal accepted that a failure to say please in a kitchen environment was not rudeness, it was a matter of practicality. It was accepted that the communication style in the kitchen is “direct and efficient” and therefore “… it is just professional and industry standard”.

Ms. Bridgette Peters, the Claimant, was employed as a Chef de Partie at Leto Café, London from 23 August 2022 until 27 August 2022. The Claimant’s grounds of complaint revolved around the lack of use of the word ‘please’ by her colleagues.  She claimed that instructions from her colleagues came across as rude because staff were not saying please.

On her very first day, Ms. Peters requested her colleagues several times to say ‘please’ when she was set tasks by them. However, one of her colleagues explained to her that he was speaking to her in a normal and professional way for a kitchen. Ms Peters raised further concerns during the week whereupon she was reminded again that the communication style in the kitchen is “direct and efficient, and that this is not personal or rudeness, it is just professional and industry standard and she should not expect that the word ‘please’ follows every request”.

Despite the reassurances given by her colleagues, a dispute between Ms. Peters and a fellow chef occurred on her fourth day of employment. Having only worked one week at the restaurant, she was dismissed by Mr.Sklyrov who is the Head Chef at Leto Café and responsible for a number of other premium restaurants.  After investigations, Mr. Skylrov decided to dismiss Ms. Peters to avoid further conflict between the kitchen staff. Mr. Sklyrov described in his witness statement that Ms Peter’s attitude and expectations were unrealistic.

As a result, Ms. Peters brought a tribunal claim on the basis that her dismissal was because of her race as she is Black British. Mr. Sklyrov denied this claim and reiterated that she was only dismissed as it became clear that her skills and expectations about work demands were unsuited to the role.

The employment tribunal listed Ms. Peters’ claims for a full merits hearing in June 2023 , however her claim of direct race discrimination was held to be not well-founded and therefore dismissed. It was accepted by the tribunal that the behaviour complained of was the normal practice in that working environment and she should therefore not expect that the word ‘please’ follows every request.

The tribunal also agreed with the Respondent’s defence that it is not rudeness if individuals do not use the word ‘please’ and that this is not specific to this particular restaurant; in other words, it is common across the premium hospitality industry, of which Ms Peters herself was part of.

In the case of Dadhania v SAP (UK) Limited et al, part of the Employment Tribunal’s judgment was that swearing is now commonplace in a work setting and therefore swear words do not carry the shock value it once did. In other words, some swear words lack the meaning and significance that they once had. The leading takeaway from this case is that the context in which profanity is used is important. For example, the construction industry is notorious for the use of bad language on construction sites with case law revolving around sexist jokes, negative attitude towards women and reports of harassment, swearing and discrimination.

It follows that swearing in the workplace should be addressed within the organisation’s disciplinary policy or employee handbook. For the sake of clarity, the policies should set out the company’s position on the use of offensive and inappropriate language allowing employees to gain an understanding of the expected standard at the workplace.

Our Employment Law team is able to assist you with a review of your workplace policies and employee handbook and can help identify any potential risks to be addressed in your current practices.

Should you have concerns or simply require guidance on your company policies, please contact our Employment Law team on 01604 828282 / 01908 660966 or email info@franklins-sols.co.uk