A woman sued her employer for race discrimination after colleagues did not give her a card on her birthday.
Benabel Marston, who identifies herself as black African, told an employment tribunal that "everyone else got a card and snacks" on their birthdays, but she got "nothing".
Marston, who worked at the Hilton Hotel at London Gatwick airport, sued her former employer after she was fired a few months later, alleging that her birthday was not celebrated because of her race.
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|Hilton at Gatwick Airport
However, a judgement ruled that she was an "unreliable witness", with her claim thrown out because her birthday was not long after a team decision had been made to cease the celebration of staff members' birthdays.
In the South London tribunal, the hearing heard how Marston joined Excel Hospitality as an accounts assistant in November 2022, reports The Telegraph.
Her birthday on December 31, 2022 "was not marked with the presentation of a card or any other celebration".
Marston told the hearing that she "alleges this was because of her race."
She was fired in May a year later, when bosses said her work performance was "not up to standard".
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|Hilton Hotel at London Gatwick
The tribunal heard: "When asked directly by the judge whether any other birthdays had been celebrated after [Ms Marston]’s before the end of her employment in May 2023, [Ms Marston] confirmed there had not been.
"On the balance of the evidence, we find that a team decision was made (by majority) no longer to celebrate birthdays, and this was a decision that was not influenced by the fact that [Ms Marston]’s birthday was approaching nor by her race.
"It was a decision that affected everyone, and with which the majority of the team agreed.
"Notably [Ms Marston] made no complaint about her birthday not being celebrated prior to the end of her employment.”
The tribunal said: "We found that the claimant was an unreliable witness. The overall impression that the tribunal took from the claimant’s evidence was that her narrative was prone to shifting from moment to moment.
"They added that she tried to 'paint a picture of a broad conspiracy against her'."
Employment Judge Paul Abbott said: “There is nothing in the facts to support the assertion that not celebrating [Ms Marston]’s birthday was in any way influenced by [Ms Marston]’s race.
"Indeed, the decision was not related to [Ms Marston] in any specific way at all.”
Marston’s other claims for race discrimination and victimisation were also dismissed.