Latest news with #AdeelHabib
The Independent
29-05-2025
- Business
- The Independent
Currys worker's fury over missing office mug ‘out of proportion', judge rules
The colleagues of a man who became 'very upset' about his office mug going missing likely felt his response was 'out of proportion', an employment tribunal has found. A judge ruled that Adeel Habib probably gave his colleagues 'reason to believe that he viewed the loss of the mug as stealing' and that this is 'likely to have caused some resentment towards him'. The ruling came in a case brought by Mr Habib against Currys, where he was employed between January and March 2023 as a credit support associate at their office in Poole, Dorset. Mr Habib accused his former colleagues of 'cold-shouldering' him following the dispute over his mug, which he claimed amounted to racial discrimination. But his claim was dismissed after a hearing in Southampton, with Judge David Hughes saying that Mr Habib was 'probably very upset' about his mug and noting that 'he can language that is apt to strike others as confrontational, even if he does not intend to be'. The judge said: 'We find that he probably did give his colleagues reason to believe that he viewed the loss of the mug as stealing. We find that this is likely to have caused some resentment towards him.' He added: 'Sad though it is to have to say this, it seems to us to be likely that Mr Habib is, unfortunately, ill-equipped to cope with the nuances of social interaction in the workplace, and lacks the sort of social skills that might have eased tensions that arose around the mug incident.' Mr Habib also alleged that he had been racially discriminated against in his manager's decision to deny him five weeks' of holiday leave to attend weddings in Pakistan, in a request lodged a month after joining the company. But this was rejected by the tribunal, with the judge finding that 'Mr Habib was denied his requested holiday leave on a reasonable application of Currys' policy and practice'. A further claim, that he was sexually harassed by a married colleague who left a bottle of Juice Burst on his desk, which Mr Habib considered to have 'a sexual connotation', was also rejected. However, Mr Habib was awarded three weeks' additional notice pay, with the tribunal rejecting further claims for arrears of pay and bonus payments.
Daily Mail
28-05-2025
- General
- Daily Mail
Implying your office colleagues have stolen your work mug when it goes missing will probably come across as 'out of proportion', tribunal rules as worker loses race discrimination case
A Currys employee lost a race discrimination case, after an employment tribunal ruled it would probably have seemed to colleagues 'out of proportion' to infer your co-workers stole your missing mug. Adeel Habib began working as a credit support associate for the electrical giant at an office in Poole, Dorset in January 2023, but he only stayed at the company for under four months. He claimed he was discriminated against when colleagues 'cold shouldered' him after he got 'greatly upset' by someone else taking his cup in March, a hearing in Southampton was told. A co-worker explained that if Mr Habib had left the mug in the kitchen then someone else had probably used it as those cups were seen as communal. After this, she then offered to go around the office with Mr Habib and ask colleagues if they had seen the mug. The support associate said that after this incident he was 'cold shouldered' by his colleagues and claimed at the tribunal that this amounted to race discrimination. The employment tribunal heard his reaction - in which he implied fellow staff were guilty of theft - seemed 'out of proportion'. His race claim against the electrical retail giant was dismissed with the panel finding any 'resentment' towards him was caused by his 'confrontational' attitude to the mug going missing. Employment Judge David Hughes said Mr Habib likely 'caused some resentment' towards him by coming across as 'confrontational' in his search for the mug, implying that it had been stolen. However, he added that it had nothing to do with his race. He added that the associate was 'ill-equipped' to manage the nuances of social interaction in the workplace which could have 'eased tensions'. 'We find that Mr Habib was probably very upset about his mug,' the judge said: 'Just how upset he was probably seemed to his colleagues to be out of proportion to the loss of a mug. 'Mr Habib can use language that is apt to strike others as confrontational, even if he does not intend to be. 'We find that he probably did give his colleagues reason to believe that he viewed the loss of the mug as stealing. 'We find that this is likely to have caused some resentment towards him. 'Sad though it is to have to say this, it seems to us to be likely that Mr Habib is, unfortunately, ill-equipped to cope with the nuances of social interaction in the workplace, and lacks the sort of social skills that might have eased tensions that arose around the mug incident.' Mr Habib also tried to claim that his manager denying him five weeks annual leave to go back to Pakistan for a series of weddings, which he requested just a month into his employment, was race discrimination. The tribunal found that the rejection of his holiday request was not race discrimination and was merely his manager following Currys' standard policy. As well as the race discrimination claims, Mr Habib alleged that during his time at Currys he had been sexually harassed by a female co-worker. However, his allegations were dismissed as 'simply incredible'. At the end of March, Mr Habib was dismissed by Currys and was not given an opportunity to appeal. His unfair dismissal claim was struck out because Mr Habib had not been employed long enough to make that claim. However, he was awarded three weeks' notice pay because there was no mention of a probation period in his notice and therefore he was entitled to one month's notice not one week.
Telegraph
28-05-2025
- Business
- Telegraph
Getting upset by a work mug going missing is ‘out of proportion'
Getting upset at your work mug going missing is 'out of proportion' and likely to cause colleagues to feel 'resentment' towards you, an employment tribunal has ruled. A judge has decided that implying that a missing cup has been stolen could be seen as 'confrontational'. The tribunal weighed in on the office politics surrounding work mugs in the case of a Currys worker who sued for racism after his went missing. Adeel Habib claimed he was discriminated against when colleagues 'cold-shouldered' him after he got 'greatly upset' by someone else taking his cup. The employment tribunal heard his reaction – in which he implied fellow staff were guilty of theft – seemed 'out of proportion'. His racism claim against the electrical retail giant was dismissed with the panel finding any 'resentment' towards him was caused by his 'confrontational' attitude to the mug going missing. 'Ill-equipped' to handle The hearing, held in Southampton, Hampshire, was told Mr Habib began working for Currys as a credit support associate in January 2023 at their office in Poole, Dorset, but he lasted under four months on the job. A co-worker explained to a 'greatly upset' Mr Habib that if he had left the mug in the kitchen then someone else had probably used it as those cups were seen as communal. She then offered to go around the office with Mr Habib and ask colleagues if they had seen the mug. The associate – who is of Pakistani background – said that after this incident he was 'cold-shouldered' by his colleagues and claimed at the tribunal that this amounted to racial discrimination. Employment Judge David Hughes said Mr Habib probably 'caused some resentment' because of his 'confrontational behaviour' in the search for the mug, adding it had nothing to do with his race. He said the associate was 'ill-equipped' to manage the nuances of social interaction in the workplace which could have 'eased tensions'. 'Probably very upset' Judge Hughes said: 'We find that Mr Habib was probably very upset about his mug. Just how upset he was probably seemed to his colleagues to be out of proportion to the loss of a mug.' He ruled that Mr Habib probably gave his co-workers reason to believe 'he viewed the loss of the mug as stealing', causing resentment. 'Sad though it is to have to say this, it seems to us to be likely that Mr Habib is, unfortunately, ill-equipped to cope with the nuances of social interaction in the workplace, and lacks the sort of social skills that might have eased tensions that arose around the mug incident,' he added. Mr Habib also tried to claim that his manager denying him five weeks annual leave to go back to Pakistan for a series of weddings, which he requested just a month into his employment, was racial discrimination. The tribunal found that the rejection of his holiday request was not discrimination but merely his manager following Currys' standard policy.
