A Nigerian man, Victor Stanley-Idum, has lost a racism lawsuit against the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) after being disciplined for buying a vacuum cleaner and taking an Uber to the airport during official work hours while working from home.
The civil servant, who worked as a project manager, claimed he was racially discriminated against, alleging his manager held a “stereotypical view of Black Africans being lazy.”
But an employment tribunal dismissed the case, ruling that MoD bosses acted fairly due to his “unstructured” work routine and personal errands during work hours.
Stanley-Idum had offered several explanations for his absence during office hours, including needing “to go and buy a Hoover,” according to tribunal documents. On another occasion, he missed work to pick up family members from the airport but insisted, “I had taken my laptop with me, took an Uber taxi and conducted my day’s affairs while at the airport and in the back of my Uber.”
However, the tribunal found his claim unconvincing. “There is evidence that he was taking time during the working day to do things that were unrelated to work,” Judge Tim Adkin said.
His supervisor, Sharon Docherty, had issued a fixed timetable after raising concerns over his performance and “casual attitude to working hours.”
Stanley-Idum later filed grievances for racial discrimination, harassment, and victimisation, but the tribunal found no proof of racial bias.
Judge Adkin concluded, “We have not formed the impression based on all the evidence that Mrs Docherty held a stereotypical view of Black Africans being lazy or dishonest.”
