Saying N-Word at Work Isn’t Always Fireable Offense, UK Judges Rule

  • Manager fired after using N-word in an anti-racism class
  • Lloyds says it’s considering appealing London judgment

A Lloyds Banking Group Plc branch in London.

Photographer: Hollie Adams/Bloomberg
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Lloyds Banking Group Plc executives went too far when they fired a manager for using the N-word at an anti-racism training session, London judges ruled, highlighting how banks can overstep when tackling racist language in the workplace.

Carl Borg-Neal, was fired for using the full racist slur during a discussion about the impact of language at an online race education training course attended by about 100 of the bank’s line managers. Judges at a London employment tribunal ruled that although Lloyds’ executives may have felt that anything other than a dismissal would mean condoning the use of the word, the firing was still unfair.