Delivery driver’s f-word slur towards colleague not a sackable offence in the North, tribunal rules

A delivery driver who called his female colleague a “f***ing m***” during an argument over doughnuts in the office was unfairly dismissed, a judge ruled.

Robert Ogden was sacked from his role at the wholesale provider Booker in 2023 when he left the woman in tears after making comments about her weight and her attendance at weight loss classes.

However, a judge at a tribunal in Manchester said that while the comment was rude, the f-word is commonly used “in the public sphere” and is often used in the North of England.

Judge Jetinder Shergill also found while the word “m***” is a derogatory term for someone with Down’s syndrome, he accepted Mr Ogden instead used it as a Northern term for stupid.

He now stands in line for compensation after evidence emerged his “toxic” office was rife with similar comments, and the company’s managers had contributed to the problem.

The court hearing was told Mr Ogden had worked at the site in Royton since 2016 until his dismissal in October last year.

During an office discussion, the woman said he was “very aggressive” towards her, and told her: “You can’t do that, are you a f***ing m***? No wonder it takes you 19 weeks to lose a stone, it hasn’t taken me 19 weeks.”

The woman was left feeling “shocked and violated” and called a friend in tears, before raising a formal grievance for bullying.

However, Mr Ogden told the tribunal there was a “wider problem with the culture in the workplace”, and claimed there had been a number of incidents including “mutual horseplay” between staff and management.

This included inappropriate comments such as referring to the woman as “chubs”, and one incident which saw the shift manager pouring sweets over her head.

In Mr Ogden’s dismissal letter, managers acknowledged there were “some failings by the business” over his suspension and investigation. The judge supported his claims that Mr Ogden was singled out and said the decision to sack him without warning was therefore “harsh”.

On what was uncovered in the investigation to dismiss Mr Ogden, the judge said: “That points to a significant amount of banter in the office with the victim being part and parcel of it.

“I am satisfied there was a toxic culture in the office, it was lawless with no real enforcement of expected workplace norms by managers.”

He added a “culture of banter” meant Mr Ogden had been lulled into a false sense of security after he was not pulled up on previous comments.

His compensation will be decided at a later date.