A Muslim school worker sued for religious discrimination after complaining her boss called her a 'guinea pig'. Jasia Haroon claimed assistant head teacher Emma Bell used the term as an insult against her faith, an employment tribunal heard.
She said that being called a pig was offensive to her and that she had been a victim of discrimination as a result. But the panel concluded Mrs Bell was simply using a new checklist while starting Ms Haroon off in the primary school job and the 'guinea pig' comment was an innocent reference to the fact she was the first member of staff to be inducted using it.
The tribunal, held in Reading, Berks, heard Ms Haroon - a Pakistani Muslim - started work as a learning support assistant at Manorcroft Primary School in Egham, Surrey, on a temporary contract to provide maternity cover from March 2020. Mrs Bell was her line manager and responsible for the her induction, which involved the use of an 'induction checklist' for the first time.
