Laughing at a colleague when they fall at work is not harassment, a judge has said. The “slapstick” nature of taking a tumble means that some people might find the “misfortune of others” to be funny, he added. Kitchen worker Kesarajith Perera had alleged his immediate boss Hesham Badra chuckled out loud as he slipped while doing his pub job in Harrow, north-west London.
But he lost his claims for racial and religious harassment after the Watford employment tribunal decided that his argument did not stand up to scrutiny.
Mr Perera had claimed he was racially targeted when Mr Badra laughed at his expense, even accusing the general manager of putting oil on the floor deliberately. He later admitted that the spot where he tumbled was prone to spillages.
The panel noted in its decision: “Unfortunately, it appears to us, Mr Perera has a tendency to jump to conclusions when he encounters misfortune.”
Employment judge David Maxwell had told the hearing: “Whilst it might be tempting to hope that one colleague would only ever react in a sympathetic way towards the misfortune of another, common experience suggests this is not always the case.
The slapstick element of a fall may prompt laughter.” The judge commented: “His view of matters was unreasonable”.
Mr Perera had slipped in the kitchen of The George in March 2020. He was fired in October after failing to provide papers confirming his right to work in the UK.
Mr Perera took bar owners Stonegate Pub Company Ltd to the tribunal complaining of racism, but the panel concluded the laughter had nothing to do with his race or religion.
The tribunal did rule in his favour elsewhere, awarding him £1,426 for unlawful deductions of wages and £908 for a lack of written job details.
