HMRC boss sent staff member 'unwanted' birthday card... then she filed for harassment

During a leave of absence due to work-related stress, Kani Toure “clearly explained” that she wanted minimal contact and kept strictly to emails.

Croydon Employment Tribunal heard that the following month, she was contacted “more than once every day” by fellow employees.

She also received a birthday card during this period, despite stating that she was not celebrating it for “personal reasons”.

Toure, who suffers from a pituitary gland tumour that is exacerbated by stress, is now in line for compensation after winning several claims of race and disability harassment and discrimination against the Government department.

She began working as a customer service consultant at HMRC’s Croydon office in October 2019.

Toure, who was born in France and of Afghan origin, began working from home in March 2020 due to the pandemic.

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Four months later, following difficulties claiming expenses, she told Hugh Henderson, her boss, via email that she had been discriminated against “mostly because of my foreign accent and origin”.

However, Toure, who is also a Muslim, said that her complaints were ignored.

On her birthday on August 2, 2020, her boss revealed that he knew it was her birthday, due to a list that he had made detailing each member of staff’s date of birth.

Toure emailed him the next day to say that whilst it was “very kind”, she did not celebrate her birthday due to “personal reasons” and wished to be removed from the list.

Fast forward next year, and Toure was on sick leave due to her tumour which had begun causing her migraines.

She asked that only essential correspondence be emailed to her, as interactions made her “emotional”. However, the panel heard that she was sent 11 emails to check if she was “alright”, alongside a birthday card - which “exacerbated” her symptoms.

Henderson had left the role at this point, so a new manager who wasn’t briefed on Toure’s preferences had sent the celebratory card.

She remained absent from work until November 2021, where she received a letter stating that she would face “formal steps regarding her sickness absence”.

Toure then took HMRC to the tribunal where she made 20 allegations of race and disability harassment, 10 of which were successful.

Adam Leith, the employment judge, said: “[HMRC’s] conduct, in repeatedly contacting [Ms Toure] during the early part of her sickness absence, was unwanted.

“While she could have been more proactive in reporting her absence, she had clearly explained why she wished for correspondence to be kept to a minimum.

“The birthday card was also unwanted, in the sense that she had told Mr Henderson that she did not want her birthday to be marked.”

Leith added that “repeated contact” created a “hostile and intimidating environment” for Toure.

A hearing will take place at a later date to decide her compensation.