Black delivery driver sues Greggs for racism after a colleague ‘compared working for the chain to slavery’ and he was ‘told to pay for coffee while white staff got it for free’
- Black delivery driver Louis Richardson-Cuffe is suing bakery Greggs for racism
- He claims a colleague said ‘working for Greggs is like black people in slavery’
- Mr Richardson-Cuffe claims he had to ‘pay for coffee while white staff got it free’
- Driver is taking Greggs to employment tribunal and full hearing is set for May
A black delivery driver is suing Greggs for racism after a colleague ‘compared working for them to slavery’ and and he was ‘told to pay for coffee while white staff got it for free’.
Louis Richardson-Cuffe claims he was repeatedly harassed whilst working for the popular bakery chain and was discriminated against by a colleague who said ‘working for Greggs is like black people in slavery’.
The driver also claims he was treated differently to other drivers because he was not offered free coffee when he made a delivery – whilst his white colleagues were.
He is taking Greggs to an employment tribunal, which will decide whether they are guilty of racial discrimination or harassment, and a full hearing will be held in May.
A black delivery driver is suing Greggs for racism after a colleague ‘compared working for them to slavery’ and and he was ‘told to pay for coffee while white staff got it for free’ (file image)
Mr Richardson-Cuffe’s case – which is denied by the bakery – was outlined at a preliminary hearing held in Bury St Edmunds, Suffolk.
As part of his claims he alleges that white drivers were qualified quickly by Greggs despite having accidents.
The driver says on one occasion he was not allowed free coffee from a store in Ipswich although it is company policy that all drivers are entitled to a complementary drink.
Mr Richardson-Cuffe says white drivers were offered free coffee but he was not and says he was even told he ‘should go get coffee from elsewhere or pay for the coffee’ instead.
When he complained about the coffee incident, he alleges that he was told to go home.
The tribunal also heard his claim that in the autumn of 2019 a fellow driver verbally abused him and said ‘they had to get rid of ’em all’.
Mr Richardson-Cuffe told the tribunal he believed the colleague meant ‘they wanted to get rid of black people’.
The hearing was told that in January 2020 another fellow driver said to him that ‘working for Greggs is like black people in slavery’.
Less than two weeks later, Mr Richardson-Cuffe was sacked for gross misconduct. However, he claims he was dismissed because of his race.
The driver also claims he was treated differently to other drivers because he was not offered free coffee when he made a delivery while his white colleagues were (file image)
He also states he was called an ‘asshole’ during the subsequent disciplinary review hearing, a comment he believed to be ‘malicious and racist’.
He told the tribunal an Employee Performance Log had been ‘manipulated’ in order to dismiss him and noted a number of aspects he believed to be untrue.
At the preliminary hearing, legal representatives of Greggs noted the ‘extremely wide-ranging allegations against over 20 different colleagues’, adding: ‘They worked at different sites, and it is highly implausible they were all acting in a discriminatory fashion towards [Mr Richardson-Cuffe].’
A number of other allegations by the driver were dismissed at the preliminary stage as they had no reasonable prospect of success.
A full hearing of Mr Richardson-Cuffe’s claims will be held in May.