Aggravated damages for promoting a racist

British Telecommunications plc v Reid (CA TLR 9 October)

Mr Reid was a black man of Afro-Caribbean descent who had been employed by BT since 1997. In January 2000, he was working shifts in St Albans with two others. It was not a happy team. There were a number of unpleasant incidents culminating in the transgressor, one of the team, after a heated argument saying to Mr Reid: ‘I will get someone to put you back in your cage.’ The employment tribunal found that the employer had not proved that it had taken such steps as were reasonably practicable to prevent the transgressor from doing the alleged acts and that it was therefore liable in respect of any complaint found proved. The tribunal awarded the employee £6,000 for injury to feelings and £2,000 by way of aggravated damages. The employer appealed against the separate awards of damages for injury to feelings and aggravated damages.