Remedies Hearing: Carl Borg-Neal v Lloyds Banking Group
Bank manager unfairly dismissed seeks compensation
Lloyds bank manager of 17 years, Mr Borg-Neal, is seeking compensation after an employment tribunal ruled he had been unfairly dismissed by his employer.
During a race education course in 2021, Mr Borg-Neal enquired as to what he should do if a black person were to use the N-word at work and used the full word.
Despite Mr. Borg-Neal’s immediate apology, Lloyds sacked the bank manager for gross misconduct contending the 'key reason' was that the leader of the training was so 'badly distressed', they had to take a week off work.
However, the London Central Employment Tribunal found in favour of Mr. Borg-Neal, ruling that he had not intended to cause hurt and his question was valid and without malice. They also found he was discriminated against on the grounds of disability due to his dyslexia.
Read the judgment here.
Comprehensive breakdown of case here.
Status
A remedies hearing will take place at Central London Employment Tribunal over 2 days on 19-20th October 2023.
UPDATE: On 5th January 2023, Free Speech Union announced the employment tribunal vindicated Mr Borg-Neal and awarded damages of almost £500,000 and combined with Lloyds’ legal costs, and tax, the bank has been ordered to pay over £800,000.
Read the complete judgment for damages (remedy) here.
The 46-page judgment raised serious questions about how institutions such as Lloyds Bank deal with “very sensitive issues” that arise during diversity training.
Live tweeting sessions
Thursday 19 October morning - Part 1, Part 2
(Corrections; Tom Coghlin KC and Paul Doherty’s names were misspelt this am. Dr Bernard Horsford was jointly instructed, Mr Paul Doherty is expert witness for Claimant and Dr Ian Anderson expert witness for Respondent.)
Thursday 19 October afternoon - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3
Friday 20 October morning - Link to thread 1, link to thread 2
Friday 20 October afternoon - Link to thread 1, link to thread 2
Abbreviations
J or EJ - Employment Judge Lewis
P - Panel or panel member
C or CBN - Carl Borg-Neal - Claimant
TC - Tom Coghlin KC Counsel for C
R or LB Lloyds Bank - Respondent
IF - Iris Ferber KC Counsel for R
W - Witnesses:
C or CBN - Carl Borg-Neal
GN - Graham Neal - C’s brother
JE - Joint experts
BH - Dr Bernard Horsford, jointly instructed expert
PD - Mr Paul Doherty, expert for Claimant
IA - Dr Ian Anderson, expert for Respondent
Other abbrevs
WS - witness statement
MR - medical report
MH - mental health
dys - dyslexia
MNF - monthly net figure
Sol - schedule of loss
Subs - submissions
WFH - Work From Home
TATT - Tired All The Time
Press coverage
Here are links to a selection of relevant press coverage about this case. These links are included without comment and are not endorsed by Tribunal Tweets. This is a sample of coverage only, with most recent first - it is not comprehensive. Please DM our main Twitter account to submit coverage from an established news outlet. Any paywalled article must be archived.
8 Jan 2024
The Critic - An £800,000 lesson in how not to do diversity training
7 Jan 2024
[VIDEO] Free Speech Nation - Toby Young if Free Speech Union discusses Carl Borg-Neal's vindication and compensation
6 Jan 2024
LBC - Bank worker wins £490,000 payout after being sacked for using N-word in training session
5 Jan 2024
The Telegraph - White middle-aged men are ‘bottom of everything’ says bank worker sacked over N word
20 Oct 2023
Business News - Ex-Lloyds manager seeks £1.2 million after win in racist slur case
BNN Bloomberg - Ex-Lloyds Manager Seeks £1.2 Million After Win in Racist Slur Case
15 Sept 2022
6 Sept 2023
The Critic - Diversity, equity and exclusion
1 Sept 2023
Personnel Today - Lloyds unfairly dismissed manager who used racial slur
Andover Advert - Tribunal: Lloyds bank boss unfairly dismissed over N-word query
HR magazine - Lloyds Bank manager dismissed for using racial slur wins tribunal
31 Aug 2023
30 Aug 2023
New York Post - UK bank must pay fired manager who said N-word during race-training class
Bloomerberg - Saying N-Word at Work Isn’t Always Fireable Offense, UK Judges Rule
26 Aug 2023
13 Aug 2023
The Times - Bank manager unfairly sacked for using the n-word, tribunal rules