Nick Toms secures a finding of racial harassment against Boots Management Services Ltd

Nick Toms has secured a finding of racial harassment against Boots Management Services Ltd on behalf of Mr Sampson Famojuro, a black Nigerian pharmacist and a member of the Pharmacists’ Defence Association. The Tribunal found Mr Famojuro had been racially harassment by two white members of staff at Boots’ Wickford Store in Essex. They accepted that the racial harassment included them refusing to assist Mr Famojuro helping an Asian customer, telling him he should leave the store, and being aggressive towards him and eventually threatening to call the police. The Tribunal found that Mr Famojuro was a dignified, sensitive and courteous man and that the treatment had had a very grave effect on him.

The Tribunal also upheld a claim of constructive unfair dismissal based on Boots’ failure to adequately investigate Mr Famojuro’s subsequent grievance. The Tribunal found the investigation did not have even a basic level of competence and failed to consider the possibility that race was a factor in any meaningful way. 

The Pharmacists Defence Association fully supported Mr Famojuro’s successful claim as part of their policy of seeking to ensure that all pharmacists working for Boots are treated with respect and dignity and not subject to unlawful discrimination.