Payout for bar manager told she looked 'very Aryan'

Ahmed Magdy Soliman made race-related remarks to Sky Sinclair at the pub

A bar manager told she looked "very Aryan" by her boss has won nearly £17,000 after a tribunal found she was discriminated against and unfairly dismissed.

Sky Sinclair worked at Glasgow pub The Old Toll Bar, where director Ahmed Magdy Soliman made the remarks to her.

Ms Sinclair felt "uncomfortable", the tribunal was told, when Mr Soliman said: "You look very Aryan with your blue eyes and blond hair" in the summer of 2023.

He also said: "Oh yeah, forgot you like white people better" after she bought a coffee for a white colleague, and asked her "how was Germany". Ms Sinclair had no connection to Germany.

The tribunal heard she interpreted the comment, in light of the earlier remark, as "suggesting that that she was racist or associated with Nazi ideology".

She said she "felt awkward and believed that Mr Soliman was deriving satisfaction from her discomfort".

By June 2024, Ms Sinclair, then 34, was unexpectedly removed from the staff group chat.

On 11 July when she came in to work, Mr Soliman said she was being dismissed due to poor sales performance. No prior warnings had been given to her, and no evidence regarding the figures was provided.

When she questioned the suddenness of her dismissal, Mr Soliman said she had been employed for just under two years and the decision had been made.

He told Ms Sinclair to leave immediately.

Two years continuous employment is the point after which an employee gains extra legal protections against unfair dismissal.

However, the two-year rule does not apply in cases where there is discrimination.

Employment judge Shona MacLean ruled that Ms Sinclair had been harassed and unlawfully discriminated against in Mr Soliman's unsolicited race-related remarks.

She added the business owner's comments on Ms Sinclair's race and appearance put the bar manager "in a difficult position".

She wrote: "I found no evidence of misconduct. The dismissal appeared predetermined to avoid the claimant acquiring statutory rights."

Ms Sinclair was awarded £2,000, plus interest, for injury to her feelings, and more than £14,000 for the unfair dismissal claim. She had sought more than £17,000 for lost earnings for 54.5 weeks.