Use of F-word at work no longer has same shock value, says judge

‘The words used are fairly commonplace ... and it was not intended to be offensive towards her’

SAYING the F-word at work no longer has the “shock value” it once did, a tribunal judge has said.

Andrew Gumbiti-zimuto said the phrase “I don’t give a f---” is now “fairly commonplace” in British workplaces. The phrase does not upset people anymore and “lacks significance”, the employment tribunal judge said while presiding over the case of an account manager who complained her boss used the phrase during a work meeting.

Hasmita Dadhania, 61, had sued SAP (UK), a software development company, for unfair dismissal and discrimination, claiming that Bruce Pell, the international firm’s services sales manager, “belittled” her and unnecessarily micro-managed her. She also accused Mr Pell of swearing during the meeting.

The hearing, in Reading, Berkshire, was told they were discussing a deal sponsored by a colleague, Shane Paladin, in April 2020 when Mrs Dadhania contends that “she was undermined and belittled” by Mr Pell. A company report stated that: “The meeting was a day-to-day meeting [Mrs Dadhania] states it is unusual for Mr Pell to attend such a meeting, Mr Pell says the contrary.

“She states that during the meeting Mr Pell said ‘I don’t give a f--- that Shane is sponsoring it’.”

Mr Pell denied the comment but Judge Gumbiti-zimuto said that, even if he did say that, it would not be rude.

The judge said: “We considered Mrs Dadhania a believable witness and do not consider it is something she is likely to have made up. The words allegedly used in our view are fairly commonplace and do not carry the shock value they might have done in another time.

“It is in our view something that might have been said and is not recalled now by two other colleagues because of its lack of significance at the time.”

The tribunal accepted Mrs Dadhania’s description of Mr Pell’s behaviour at the meeting as “aggressive”.

“Mr Pell stated that he was not concerned that Mr Shane Paladin was the sponsor for the deal, what was important was that you did a good job for all customers. In our view, without the expletive, this comment chimes with the evidence given by Mrs Dadhania.

“The meeting on 20 April is described by witnesses present as ‘tense’ and ‘hard’ but ‘nothing personal’. We accept that the comment, though made by Mr Pell, was not intended to be offensive towards her,” the judge concluded.

Mrs Dadhania, who raised a grievance against the firm after she was taken off accounts worth millions of pounds, won her unfair dismissal claim as it was found SAP (UK) failed to properly investigate the grievances. However, she lost claims over age, race and sex discrimination and victimisation.

Mrs Dadhania, who resigned in July 2020 after four years at the west-london company, will be awarded compensation for unfair dismissal at a later date.