Black labourer who had his genitals grabbed by boss wins £105,000 payout

A black labourer who had his privates grabbed by his boss and was asked ‘Is it true what they say about black men?’ has won £105,000 in a racism claim.

Alwayne Thompson was awarded the massive payout after his manhood was taunted and he was subjected to vile racist comments by colleagues.

The 39-year-old was left ‘humiliated’ and ‘violated’ when his supervisor Steven Savery repeatedly made ‘ill-judged’ remarks about black people.

A tribunal heard Mr Savery grabbed Mr Thompson’s private parts and mocked him by asking ‘is it true what they say about black men having big feet and a big dick?’

Afro-Caribbean Mr Thompson, who worked for waste disposal company Wheeldon Brothers in Oldham, Greater Manchester, was also said to have experienced racist abuse following the 2017 Manchester Arena bombing.

The tribunal in Manchester found Mr Thompson was physically assaulted at work, told ‘no one likes you’, and told ‘we don’t want black people in our country’.

The father of one was given the middle finger by colleagues, intimidated, and it was heard he was subjected to claims he ‘wielded a knife in a threatening way’.

Mr Thompson, who worked for Wheeldon Brothers for 12 years and said he was the only black man, launched legal proceedings against the firm and sued them for unfair dismissal and racial harassment.

Now, a judge has ordered that the company must pay him £105,904 in compensation for injury to feelings, personal injury, and financial losses.

He had been fired in August 2018 after being in an alleged racial punch-up with a Polish colleague, but the tribunal found he had been the victim rather than the perpetrator or equal participant.

A tribunal report said Mr Savery’s remarks humiliated Mr Thompson, from the Greater Manchester area.

It said: ‘We found that Mr Savery did on more than one occasion make the remark about black men alleged by Mr Thompson and did grab his private parts.

‘We found that conduct was unwanted conduct and had the effect of humiliating Mr Thompson.

‘Having heard Mr Savery give evidence we do not believe he made the remarks with the purpose of violating Mr Thompson’s dignity. He displayed no hostility towards Mr Thompson.

‘We do find that this was an ill-judged attempt at humour but one which had the effect of violating Mr Thompson’s dignity and creating a humiliating environment for him.

‘Given the explicit nature of the remark we find it was related to Mr Thompson’s race and, even though not meant as harassment by Mr Savery was serious enough in its effect to amount to harassment.’

The tribunal heard as a result of the harassment, Mr Thompson’s relationships with his wife and child have been affected ‘he has become fearful of leaving the house’, and struggles to sleep at night.

The report added: ‘Prior to the harassment he played football for a non-league team, volunteered as a Sunday school teacher for children between five and 10 years old, and as a qualified Street Pastor spent Saturday evening on duty on the streets… helping vulnerable people.

‘He no longer does any of these things. Mr Thompson’s evidence was that the harassment left him feeling depressed and struggling with suicidal thoughts, stress and anxiety.’