If so, how often is acceptable? What if the contact is unwanted?
The Employment Tribunal recently considered these issues in the Toure v Commissioners for HM Revenue and Customs case.
Ms Toure joined HMRC in 2019 and is a French national of African origin and a Muslim. She had a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010. Comments were made about her accent and her appearance, including being described as being a “beautiful black woman”. She was also asked why she wore a headscarf.
During a team meeting in August 2020, Ms Toure’s line manager (who kept a list of his team’s birthdays) acknowledged her birthday to the team. Ms Toure then emailed her line manager, explaining that although she had appreciated the birthday wishes, she did not want her personal information shared. She asked to be removed from the list.
Ms Toure subsequently raised an informal complaint and later a formal grievance about how her expenses claim had been handled and the lack of training opportunities.
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