LONDON — A primary school teacher sued for race discrimination after a colleague put on a Caribbean accent and said “Totally Tropical Taste” to imitate a soft drink advert catchphrase.
Trainee Ikhals Yousif said a woman assigned to be her mentor put on a ‘foreign accent’ to impersonate the slogan from the memorable Lilt advert of the 1980s and 1990s when asked whether she wanted something from the shops.
After doing the impression, the woman then asked, “Is that appropriate now?’ – and made a comment to imply the advert was ‘racially inappropriate,” an employment tribunal heard.
After Yousif was dismissed for failing her probation, she took legal action against the school, accusing them of race discrimination and harassment.
But now an employment judge has ruled that, while the remark was “ill-judged,” it was not “malicious” nor connected to Yousif’s race.
They noted the ‘branding and advertising’ referenced the Caribbean – whereas Yousif is Iraqi Middle Eastern.
The catchphrase ‘totally tropical taste’ was used to promote the fizzy drink which was said to be ‘inspired by the flavours of the Caribbean’.
The tribunal, held in Croydon in south London, heard Yousif started working as a Newly Qualified Teacher at Ashley Church of England Primary School – run by the Good Shepherd Trust – in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, in October 2020.
The tribunal heard that in June 2021, Ms Yousif was having a conversation with her mentor, named only as Athersuch in the judgement.
During the interaction, another member of staff asked Ms Athersuch if she would like anything from the shops.
In response, Athersuch said that she wanted some Lilt and then ‘imitated the 1980s/90s advert, putting on a Caribbean accent and saying totally tropical taste’, the hearing was told.
After making the remark, Athersuch was then said to have made a comment along the lines of “Is that appropriate now?a’
The tribunal heard that later that month, the school became concerned that Ms Yousif was taking time off from work without telling the truth about the reason for her absences.
She was asked to meet with bosses to discuss her progress but responded by accusing them of race discrimination.
In an email she wrote: “I feel it is highly discriminative because I have seen peers and colleagues at the same level, contributing similar levels of effort and capability pass their NQT, the only discrepancy between them and I is purely my ethnicity.”
Yousif was informed that she had not been successful in completing her NQT year and that she would be subject to a further extension – but this would not be accommodated at Ashley School.
The teacher was then sent a letter some days later, confirming the termination of her employment and stating that her probation period had been unsuccessful.
In response, Yousif sent a formal grievance letter to the school – which was not upheld.
The teacher sent an appeal letter and raised the ‘Lilt incident’ for the first time but her complaints were again dismissed.
Ms Yousif took the school to the tribunal, alleging race discrimination and harassment, amongst other claims.
Employment Judge Camini Kumar said: ‘We have found that Ms Athersuch said ‘totally tropical taste’ whilst imitating a Caribbean accent in [Ms Yousif’s] presence.
‘We have further found that she subsequently made a comment suggesting she realised that the historical Lilt advertising campaign was racially inappropriate.
“We do not conclude that the Lilt incident was connected to [Yousif’s] race.
“Whilst an ill-judged comment on Athersuch’s part generally and in the context of a workplace, we accepted as genuine Athersuch’s explanation that it was a comment that she would make to others in relation to the drink Lilt, copying the advertisement that had previously appeared on TV.”
“We note that the branding and advertising referenced the Caribbean whereas [Yousif] is Iraqi Middle Eastern.”
It was heard that Yousif tried to argue that the comment was made because her partner had “Caribbean heritage,” but this was dismissed by the panel who said Athersuch was ‘not aware’ of this.
Dismissing her claim, EJ Kumar added: “We do not find that the faux Caribbean accent, however ill-judged, was directed at the claimant or that it was intended to be malicious either to [Ms Yousif] or to anyone else.”
The judge did uphold one claim of victimisation, after they found that the school dismissed Ms Yousif after she accused them of race discrimination in her email.
They said this was a protected act and she was subjected to a detriment as a result of this – and also highlighted how she had already been told that she would be staying on for another year.
A remedy hearing to decide her compensation will take place at a later date. Other claims made by Ms Yousif were dismissed.
In 2023, Lilt was rebranded as Fanta Pineapple & Grapefruit.
By AIDAN RADNEDGE/Daily Mail