Apple unfairly fired UK employee who participated in toxic work culture, judge says

Apple Inc. unfairly fired an employee for making racist comments that were part of a toxic work culture at one of its London stores, according to a British court ruling.

The investigation carried out by Apple, before dismissing Timothy Jeffries who worked as a “genius” in its White City store, was “poor and incomplete”, an employment tribunal judge said. Apple did not have a zero-tolerance policy in place for discrimination and harassment, which it wanted to impose in the event of dismissal, according to the decision published last week. (Editor’s note: this article was published by Bloomberg on June 21).

“In this case, there was ample evidence that there was a culture in the repair shop that accepted explicit language and certain jokes that could be considered inappropriate, whether they referred to race or other sensitive issues,” the judge said.

Jeffries wasn’t the only person to make inappropriate comments, and Apple was investigating repair shop culture at the time.

“See you in nine months,” Jeffries said while bidding farewell to an employee when he turned to a female colleague of Chinese descent and added, “as long as you don’t spread another deadly disease in the world,” according to the judgment. . The employee filed a formal complaint following the incident.

He was fired last year after an investigation and disciplinary hearing at Apple. His comments were contrary to Apple’s expectations for standards of behavior, according to evidence presented at trial.

The judge said there was evidence that her colleagues, including the woman, took it as a joke and were not offended. “No reasonable employer would dismiss someone based on a zero tolerance policy, which does not exist,” he said.

The UK legal regime encourages employers to aim for zero tolerance of racial discrimination, which can result in the harshest penalties for violations. Apple must clearly state a zero-tolerance policy and the consequences of violating it in order to implement it, the judge said.

“I’m very happy with the result,” Jeffries said after the ruling. “It is important to read the judgment as a whole to understand the case in context.”

An Apple spokesperson declined to immediately comment.

Photography: Jeenah Moon/Bloomberg

Copyright 2024Bloomberg.

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