Aggravated damages for failure to apologise

In Patel and Harewood v T & K Home Improvements Ltd and Johnson a Bedford industrial tribunal (Chair: C Tribe) awards aggravated damages against an employer who treated workplace notices which contained racially abusive material as a joke during tribunal proceedings and did not offer an apology to the complainants.

The applicants, both black, were employed as PVC fabricators. The working environment was regarded as friendly and informal.