Tonight:
4°c
Race claim fireman's colleagues 'put eggs in his boots'
Tim Stewart29 Sep 2008
A black fireman had eggs and tomatoes put in his boots and his helmet filled with urine during a sustained campaign of racist bullying at three fire stations, a tribunal has heard.
Jason Toal, 33, said colleagues openly mocked his accent, hurled racist taunts and scrawled abuse on his locker.
They allegedly soaked him with water, binned his paperwork, vandalised his car and stole his personal possessions.
Mr Toal said he had to wear T-shirts to work for six months because his uniform orders were deliberately blocked.
While everyone else had standardissue Dr Martens boots, he had to make do with "wedding shoes". At a residential training course, his tormentors gave him a filthy bed and banned him from the staff canteen, the tribunal heard.
Mr Toal has already won a £20,000 out-of-court payout from London Fire Brigade in 2006 after bringing a race discrimination claim over his ordeal at Shoreditch fire station. He was transferred but the harassment continued at nearby Dowgate fire station and at Paddington fire station, he said.
Mr Toal, who has been in the service eight years, is now bringing a second claim against London Fire Brigade for race discrimination and victimisation.
If successful, he can expect a payout of tens of thousands of pounds. The tribunal heard that in September last year, the brigade offered Mr Toal a move to a fourth station of his choice.
Mr Toal has been off work suffering from stress ever since. It is understood he is now considering joining a station near his home in Luton. Giving evidenceto Central London Employment Tribunal, Mr Toal said it was his boyhood dream to become a fireman. He joined the service in 2000 and became a member of white watch at Shoreditch fire station in 2004.
"My time at Shoreditch fire station was very difficult," he said. "I was mocked by members of the watch for my Afro-Caribbean accent and endured racist remarks, bullying and harassment, including being soaked with water, having eggs and tomatoes put in my boots and my helmet filled with urine."
An internal investigation was held but no one was found guilty of misconduct. One colleague allegedly told him: "You will not be protected for ever."
The brigade settled his first claim without admitting any liability in 2006. It paid him £20,000, gave him a letter of apology and agreed a process for his return to work in July 2006. When Mr Toal then went to clear his locker at Shoreditch, he found his possessions had been stolen and the padlock changed.
Mr Toal said he was told he would only have to spend a few days at nearby Dowgate fire station as he waited to go on a refresher course. But he was then tipped off that he had been sent there to ensure he was "forgotten about", and his stay lasted three months.
He told how colleagues poured water or coffee over his paperwork or threw it in the bin if he left it unattended.
When he complained, he was told by a colleague to expect constant harassment because of his tribunal claim.
He took to locking materials in his car but was warned he faced being disciplined for removing brigade property.
In the end, it was six months before he finally received the proper uniform.
On a training course he attended in Lancashire, instructors from the Shoreditch station made his life a misery with one instructor publicly branding him "a f***ing c*** and a grass", he said.
On his arrival, he found they had given him a "filthy room". He said: "The bedsheets had not been changed and there was an excessive amount of pubic hair in the bed." He said he heard the instructors laughing about the situation.
During the course, he was banned from the staff canteen for not having any uniform and had the tyres on his car punctured and let down.
Mr Toal finally arrived at Paddington fire station in September 2006 but a manager made it clear he knew of Mr Toal's previous tribunal claim and called him a "lying c***", the tribunal heard.
Mr Toal brought a fresh tribunal claim in July last year. His watch manager then allegedly announced he could no longer work with him.
London Fire Brigade denies Mr Toal's claims. It insists that every effort was made to help him resume his career after his first tribunal claim was settled.
The hearing continues.
