Case won by delivery driver who insulted colleague over weight loss

A driver who insulted a co-worker during an argument has won his unfair dismissal claim and will now be entitled to compensation.

Robert Ogden who worked at wholesaler Booker called a female worker a “f ******” m ***’ when they were discussing doughnuts and weight loss classes.

After complaining to his bosses, Ms Ogden was subsequently sacked. However, she is set to receive compensation after the tribunal determined that this type of behaviour was prevalent in the “toxic and dysfunctional office”, as well as in the northern part of the country.

Judge Jetinder Shergill stated: “I’m satisfied that swearing shouldn’t be acceptable at a workplace. However, it is a common experience in everyday life, especially in the North, that the F-word is often used in public.

It is interesting that the interviewer did not stop the applicant from using expletives. This tends to promote a workplace culture that is different from what may be acceptable norms.

Mr Ogden who has worked for Tesco-owned Booker, since 2016, confessed to saying: “You’re a f***ing idiot, you can’t do that ***? No wonder you need 19 weeks to lose one stone. It hasn’t been 19 weeks for me.”

He was fired in October 2023, after the woman had filed a formal complaint of bullying in August.

She claimed that Mr Ogden was “very aggressive”, and she felt “violated” and “shocked” following the incident in the Greater Manchester Office.

The tribunal heard she called a close friend, in tears, saying she was “sick” of it and “had enough”. Mr Ogden later was dismissed for gross misbehavior due to a breach of the company’s policy on dignity at work.

He claimed that he was singled out, and the tribunal acknowledged “that there was clearly a lack in consistency of enforcement of expected standard”.

The judge stated: “What the applicant said was offensive and could have crossed a boundary.” The decision to dismiss the claimant is harsh, especially since the claimant was not informed that his conduct caused offence.

There has not yet been a hearing to determine the payout for Mr Ogden.

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