And the judge wasn't niggardly in awarding legal fees to the successful defendants, either
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sad ending for an ambulance chaser
A black ambulance driver who sued for racism after his boss used the phrase 'ten a penny' has had his case thrown out by a judge.
DHL boss Dan Price used the phrase to Matthew Johnson after the employee told him he was going on a month-long honeymoon just a month after joining the company.
An employment tribunal was told that Mr Price made the remark to suggest that ambulance drivers like Mr Johnson were easy to find.
However Mr Johnson took his employers to a tribunal, claiming the common idiom originates from the slave trade and that he was discriminated against.
A judge ruled that none of the 'highly skilled' driver's bosses had any idea the phrase was potentially connected to slavery. [Pro-tip: it isn’t —ED]
The Watford tribunal heard that Mr Johnson started work at the company in March 2018.
The following month he had a conversation with Mr Price informing him of his upcoming honeymoon.
Mr Price, who is white, then said words to the effect that he 'would not have employed' Mr Johnson if he had known this and used the expression 'ten a penny' to refer to him.
Mr Johnson complained that he this phrase was 'a reference to slavery'.
However, Mr Price claimed that he used this phrase with everyone and was nothing to do with Mr Johnson being black.
'(Mr Johnson) says that the expression '10 a penny' is a racist expression with its origins within the slave trade,' the tribunal heard.
'(DHL) submitted that the general understanding of the expression does not have any racial connection but refers to something that is common or easily available and the likely meaning of the above expression, if made, was that ambulance drivers with (Mr Johnson's) experience and skills were easy for (DHL) to find.
'(Mr Johnson) alleges that he did not like the remark and that he regarded it, at the time it was said, as racist. Specifically that he regarded it as a reference to slavery.'
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In dismissing the case, Mr Johnson was ordered by the tribunal to pay £1200 toward's DHL's costs.
“No worries, mon”, Mr. Johnson told FWIW. “I’ll be heading over to the U.S., where I hear cases like this are a dime a dozen, and the victim always wins.”
