Racism allegation at work

[Ticklemelmo]

Without outing I know someone that made a genuine mistake at the beginning of the year by putting something unintentionally racist in a work social media group, someone of colour in the group said it wasn't appropriate, and the person I know apologised directly straight away because they didn't realise.
Months later and a week into the BLM coming out they've come back and accused that person and several others of racism in the work place.

I can't speak for the others impacted by the racist allegations, but this person is now going through a disciplinary with a potential of dismissal?

Aibu to think that this is completely unfair? Anyone work in HR who has dealt with this and can give some expection of outcome.

Level of overt

*Perhaps someone is scared of the repercussions of making a complaint. Perhaps they have been emboldened and encouraged that they will be listened to by recent events. It's not for you to chastise the victims of racism for not speaking up soon enough for you.

This isn't difficult to understand. Maybe you lack a bit of understanding.*

My point isn't difficult to understand either, so maybe it's you that lacks understanding.

I don't think I do understand your point. Is it that black people shouldn't cause trouble by raising complaints a short while after the event? is it that black people who shout racism a little way down the track are looking to stir the shit? is it that they cause white people inconvenience when they speak up, but too late?

What point are you trying to make about black people and the sub-optimal timing of their complaints about racism?

"This isn't about the whole issue, I'm talking about this sole incident."

Many sole incidents can amount to a major issue.

   Surely you can see that from the  perspective of the complainant,  it doesn't matter if each incident was " just a one off". The cumulative effect  of multiple  incidents  by a number of   work colleagues  implies  a work environment where  racist jokes or terms are  widely condoned, excused.

jaxhog So your staff member or one of his colleagues had used the office photocopier to reproduce a racist cartoon, which he kept in his desk, before accidentally distributing it further?

How does any employee think this is ok? And if they are in an environment where such a thing can happen, how can the sole POC have the confidence to dispute your decision?

No, absolutely not. I've never argued that.[small offences should be ignore]

That is exactly the point you were promoting upthread.

You didn't answer the question about who gets to decide what is small and what should be ignored. The recipients of the comments or the white majority?

@thedancingbear

Your racist mate is fucked, OP. Hey ho.

That made me laugh out loud, thanks for that. Needed a good cleansing laugh after wading through some of these posts.

A friend of mine posted something on their private social media page (not racist, a comment about the business and the way it was run). Despite it being on her private page she was reported by a colleague to her line manager. The incident was escalated upwards rapidly.

In her case she was handed a written final warning that rested on her file for a year, and lost her yearly bonus. That was how her HR Dept dealt with a case of something improper posted on a private social media account.

OP says that there wouldn't have been other instances of racism but you can't possibly know that. It sounds to me like, rather than the firm being hotter on perceived racism because of #BLM, there may be other instances that warrant a further investigation.

With regard to some of the comments above, FWIW I do think white people are racist. Internalised or overt, we're all guilty of it. I'm not happy to admit that, because I'm white, but it's true. At the very least we've benefited from structural imbalances whether we realise it or not.

I’m not sure it’s always racist, but classist. I know many, er, middle-class BAME people. I don’t know any, er, not middle-class BAME people, and perhaps I would judge them just as much as I would judge white people of the same stratum.

When all’s said and done, I think social media and work are poor bedfellows. As someone said upthread, one person’s amusing meme could be offensive to someone else, and usually extremely unfunny.

On the issue of private social media... I’m not sure. I support freedom of speech and if someone is a member of a dubious group outside of work (not too dubious, obviously) then I think they have the right not to be reported to their workplace. Dissing one’s workplace publicly clearly is not acceptable, however.

As others have pointed out it is impossible for anyone to advise on the outcome of this because we don't know all the facts. I do think that the best chance your friend has is to express regret and emphasise he has learned his lesson from this. Racism is a serious allegation; the employer just can't run the risk of a repeat, and absolutely have to be seen to take it seriously or risk breaking the law themselves.

Sometimes I have managed disciplinary cases where we decided on a less serious outcome because the person appeared genuinely receptive to feedback and it was judged unlikely there would be a repeat. So that would be your friend's best chance. However in case your friend is complaining to all and sundry about being unfairly treated (as he has presumably complained to you) it won't be easy to argue that.

BTW your suggestion of withholding the bonus as a 'punishment' is unlikely to be possible, unless the bonus policy allows this they may be in breach of contract.

So, disciplinary is the only way I'm afraid. It is not about punishment but about reinforcing acceptable behaviour. And racism is unacceptable.

@queenofknives
"The worry and fear of being accused of racism at work over this non-incident must be hard to deal with."
Really? Being accused of racism when you say racist shit is worse than being subjected to actual racism?
In the same way being accused of raping someone is worse than being raped.
Mumsnet has become a safe place for racists

"phoenixrosehere
I was listening to an interview earlier today with Abigail Shrier, who is a Jewish woman. She said that she knows Holocaust survivors who complain less than people do these days about 'microaggressions'. She suggested that if you have to get a microscope out to see an 'aggression' then maybe it would be better to just ignore it.
Jews can also be racist yet quick to call out antisemitism.
Just ask any black Jewish person and they do exist

www.noi.org/white-jews-play-the-race-card-against-black-jews/

@thedancingbear
"I'm not interested in engaging with you. You've made it clear enough where you stand."
Exactly and she's holding tight to her privilege

Staffy1 your point is hard to understand (if it is that people should raise a complaint straight away) because there is so much evidence and testimony that people find it hard to speak out when they are a minority and a minority subject to discrimination.

Where I work (I'm in HR too) this wouldn't result in a dismissal.....probably a final written warning following the investigation and a hearing.

With BLM old incidents can raise feelings of hurt and black people like myself have just had enough of it.

I point out these things to ppl...but I wouldn't raise something that had been dealt with by way of an apology months before.

@queenofknives
The worry and fear of being accused of racism at work over this non-incident

Were you there? Who are you to say it was a "non incident?"
The person on the receiving end of the incidents won't have thought it a "non incident."
How minimising and ignoring.

Who TF posts something like this to a work page which they haven't viewed in full??

In this case, either they're racist or very very stupid.

As the person is question has apparently managed to hold down a job for a while, perhaps the natural assumption is that they're not very very stupid?

If so, then investigating racism is reasonable, no?

@YgritteSnow
Couldn't agree more with all your posts @queenofknives.🙄

To the handful of white posters on here who happen to be racist and are very upset that they have to be careful about expressing their racism.

We have to assume that you also support men who are sexist as sadly equality must be so hard on them as just like you believe racism is a non-incident surely you then believe sexism is a non-incident.

*@popcornlover

You illustrated my point beautifully ! booby prize for you!*
You're making no sense whatsoever

It’s not unfair for allegations of racism to be investigated. Maybe it’s just me but I have managed to get to the ripe old age of 50 without being racist, intentionally or unintentionally, on social media or anywhere else.
This isn’t the fault of BLM, it’s the fault of people behaving in a racist way towards colleagues. Maybe BLM empowered the person to speak out. BLM didn’t make your other colleagues behave in a racist way. Black people don’t ‘cry’ racism to get their own way any more than women ‘cry’ rape to get theirs.

@Jaxhog
"He had absolutely no previous form for this.
You mean he'd never previously been caught being racist.
I'm glad you don't manage me as I would be discussing your attitude about racism with HR

I've reported sexism at work before. I know that all the men, and quite a lot of the women, thought i was over reacting too, and jumping on a bandwagon, and making a fuss over nothing. But it's not just one incident. It's a series of smaller ones where women were completely devalued in the workplace and had to listen to rape jokes and sexism on a daily basis, which was the background and ethos to why a colleague felt entitled to sexually harass me. Maybe your friend should have been more careful about what they were sharing to colleagues.

YABU of course she can make a complaint if the other person sent a racist video to the work group chat. Racism is not funny.

I would not post a video to my work group chat that I had not watched for god sake. What if it ended with a huge penis. Your friends stupid.