Ogden v Booker Ltd [2024]

Background:

The claimant worked for the respondent as a driver/trainer from February 2016 until his dismissal in October 2023. The respondent states that the claimant was dismissed by reason of gross misconduct due to breaching the dignity at work policy. This arose from an incident in July 2023 when the claimant, in the context of dieting, said to a female colleague that she was a ‘fucking mong’. The Tribunal accepts that with ‘mong’ the claimant did not mean it in relation to any protected characteristic but rather as a vague term of abuse for someone considered as stupid or foolish. The Tribunal did reference to the Oxford English Dictionary in that regard. The victim, as referred by the