Irish Woman Wins £23,000 Payout After Boss Repeatedly Shouted ‘Potato’ When She Entered Office

An Irish bookkeeper has been awarded £23,526 by an employment tribunal in Leeds after being subjected to a “hostile, humiliating, and offensive environment” by her employer.

That “hostile, humiliating and offensive environment”: the boss repeatedly yelling “potato” at her in an Irish accent any time she entered she office.

Bernadette Hayes (below), claimed Mick Atkins, the director of West Leeds Civils, would also subject her to these taunts during disagreements.

Furthermore, Atkins and a colleague also used offensive terms such as “paddy,” “stupid paddy,” “pikey,” and “gypsy” to refer to her heritage.

Ms Hayes described the treatment as “death by a thousand cuts”, with the harassment causing her to suffer panic attacks and work-related stress, leading her GP to sign her off work in July 2024.

Employment Judge Sophie Buckley ruled that the repeated use of these terms was “overtly linked to race” and that it was reasonable for someone of Irish heritage to find them humiliating.

The judge noted that while Ms Hayes had occasionally “joined in” (e.g. by sending a potato emoji) to try and “fit in” or make light of the situation, the conduct was ultimately unwanted and the claim for race harassment succeeded.

In the end, Hayes was awarded £23,526, which included £13,000 for “injury to feelings,” £6,104 for loss of earnings, and approximately £2,800 in notice pay. That’s an expensive bag of potatoes!

Listen, fair play to her. Work is high pressure and stressful enough without also having to deal with being called a potato, a paddy and all the rest of it by your boss. He wouldn’t have dreamed of cracking those jokes around certain other nationalities, so why is it OK to pick on the Irish lady?

The company is now getting a pummeled on Google Reviews. When it rains, it pours…

For the 6ft tall Tesco worker who was paid compensation after being intimidated by his 5’4″ female boss, click HERE.