I think I've just been accused of racism at work

[Imlookingatapicture]

Panicking somewhat..

For context I'm the only Welsh person in our London office. Lots of banter around the football World Cup.

Chat started on teams (chat not video) re the 6 nations game tomorrow. Collegue (huge football fan, most vocal in the world cup) said 'I don't care about rugby. I'm half Welsh anyway'

I replied

'Oh I'm half English too. We all have our crosses to bear ;)'

Manager has just emailed me to say collegue above has complained, and it's not acceptable, especially given recent discussions around inclusion and diversity.

It was honestly just a joke, in the same vein as the world cup 'banter'

I know I shouldn't have put it on teams. Maybe context didn't come across.

How much shit am I in?

Great response

Oh FFS - do you seriously lack the skills to distinguish between those two scenarios? I fucking give up!! I pray to God you don’t hold any position of responsibility.

5 years ago I would have assumed you were taking the piss! Unfortunately I actually think you’re serious (although most people would thankfully still laugh at your comments)

I'm half English and half Scottish married to an Egyptian with Canadian nationality. My kids are obviously mixed race and my eldest daughter has just married an Australian. I would have felt like telling that man child to "Get tae fuck".

The next natural step would be to ban all competitive sports, or to ban any sort of spectators, lest someone be offended by...I don't know...anything?

Could Norwich fans deduce that I am being 'racist' because I have been known to join in with the 30,000 other people at Portman Road singing, how shall I put it...denigrating chants?

Don’t waste more energy on this man baby. Apologise, if possible I would do it in a teams call with the same people. Make sure the verbal and written apology are exactly the same. Was the team call recorded? This guy’s twattery will come back to haunt him because I would make it clear why in future why I wouldn’t be engaging in any form of non work related communication with him.

Would you have reported this exchange if you had been the man in question?

syniad da

(The joy of Google translate 😄)

One of the problems on this thread is that posters seem to think that employers follow the equality act to tackle real racism. They don't. It is just used to protect employers from being taken to tribunal.

Harassment is one of the four categories of breaches under the equality act and includes banter about protected characteristics as one of the cited examples in the guidelines.

It is not the same thing as the criminal offence of harassment.

The vast majority of people don't care about banter and never report breaches to their employer. Some people, due to sensitivity, a grudge against a colleague, a chance to step over someone for promotion, a desire to bring down a colleague a boss dislikes, or a genuine case of poor treatment, will use the equality act to make a complaint.

Once that happens, as the person being investigated, you try and get out of it as quickly as possible. I wouldn't apologise as that implies guilt which could be used as an admission of intent. Most likely the employer won't take disciplinary action but will request the employee doesn't repeat the action and reads the relevant policy document.

Posters knowing what the equality act says does not imply that those posters are in agreement with the law.

There are hills I am prepared to die on regarding authoritarianism. The right to mock the English or Welsh at work isn't one of them. OP should keep her head down and keep to the line that this was all about sports teams not about national groups.

Unless I’m mistaken (as I read the bulk of the thread late last night), why did the same guy start a post asking what people think about the rugby and then go on to say he doesn’t care about the rugby?

“We all have our crosses to bear” is a very common phrase signifying shared misfortune but in this instance it’s totally unclear whether the shared misfortune is being half-English, half-Welsh or the fact that both the teams are doing badly in the 6 Nations.

In the circumstances, I think it’s really suspect that the guy has complained - he may have started the thread looking for trouble, knowing from World Cup time the type of banter that would likely ensue. The only thing for that HR to do now is ban all non-work-related topics from the work intranet!

@belleager That's very interesting! I had no idea the origins of some of those phrases which I use in casual conversations day to day! I genuinely thought another one bites the dust was from that Rocky film where he's a boxer!

You are beyond bloody ridiculous 🤬

Too right.

You were having some light hearted sports based laugh about your own heritage ffs. What a melt your colleague is.
I wouldn’t be apologising for this. No way.

You were having some light hearted sports based laugh about your own heritage ffs. What a melt your colleague is.
I wouldn’t be apologising for this. No way.

This with bells on! The world has gone mad 😲😲😲

Bonkers isn’t it? I’d rather my P45 than ask ‘forgiveness’ for this! I can’t believe the manager has even dignified it with a discussion. It makes a mockery of genuine issues of racism or bullying etc.

I am half Welsh/English and I absolutely would not apologise! Bloody ridiculous for people finding reasons to get offended…I bloody despair!

Good job this isn't racism then - English and Welsh aren't different races. It would. Be xenophobia, though agree wirh the majority that the OP did nothing wrong and suggestions of apologising are ridiculous.

@Loics , to quote the only definition of race that is relevant here, the Equality Act, chapter 9 says

(1)Race includes—
(a)colour;
(b)nationality;
(c)ethnic or national origins.

So you are right if the English and the Welsh are the same nationality, but I wouldn't want to tell a Welsh person that.

Well, half a cross really. It's those who are full English who have to carry the whole thing. Poor sods.

It's only a cross to bear if you worry what xenophobes or racists think of you. Most people don't and they realise that where you are born is an accident rather than an achievement or failing.

Xenophobes are not usually the brightest and they don't tend to have much else going for them rather than their pride in their 'achievement" of where they were born.

Let's see OP go in with a "WTF do you think I've done wrong" attitude and see how that goes. If I wanted to keep my job ith minimal fuss then I know each approach I would take.

<spits out tea>

😂

He'll be sobbing now the match is over . . . poor Wales 😟

I was once told that Welsh has no swear words. I don't know if it's true.

A huge proportion of our commonly used phrases have their origin either in the Old Testament (as previously mentioned) or in Shakespeare ( eg "vanish into thin air", 'green-eyed monster", "good riddance", "heart of gold")

Without these two sources our language would be immeasurably poorer.