Data centre worker dismissed for posting ‘N’ word video awarded €6,500

A data centre worker who was dismissed after posting a YouTube video containing the ‘N’ word on a workplace forum has been awarded €6,500 for unfair dismissal.

Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) adjudicator John Harraghy ordered Equinix (Ireland) Enterprises Limited pay Jevgeni Rykov €6,500 in compensation for his dismissal.

In his findings, Mr Harraghy said that while it was not unreasonable for Equinix to dismiss Mr Rykov, he found “that the process followed in reaching that decision was flawed and unfair”.

Mr Harraghy said that Mr Rykov contributed substantially to his dismissal by posting the YouTube video on a Microsoft Teams platform group at work in June 2020 and that the size of the award reflected that.

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Evidence

Mr Rykov’s boss had set up the informal MS Teams group or around 15 colleagues during the pandemic to encourage team members “to have some fun” and named the group ‘SuperHappyFunTimes’.

Mr Harraghy said that from evidence in the case it was clear that the video posted by Mr Rykov “had contained components which could be deemed to be racist in nature and offensive”.

The only black team colleague of Mr Rykov told the WRC that he found the video “offensive” and that it made him “uncomfortable”.

He said that the “wording, images and stereotypes used in the video were offensive”.

Employed as a technician since June 2017 with Equinix, Mr Rykov – who had no previous disciplinary record – was dismissed for gross misconduct on June 19th, 2020 following his posting of “racially offensive contents” on the MS Teams platform 15 days earlier on June 4th.

Mr Rykov’s team leader saw the video on the “SuperHappyFunTimes” group and asked that Mr Rykov remove the content and this was done.

Mr Rykov was suspended pending an investigation and the company HR manager viewed the content and told the WRC that it was her view that it “was racially motivated, derogatory to different nationals and particularly derogatory to black communities”.

The data centre manager told the WRC that he also viewed the video and it referred to ethnic minorities and used the “N” work repeatedly.

He stated that it was derogatory in content and from his perspective the use of the “N” word was totally unacceptable.

Video

At a disciplinary meeting, Mr Rykov said that he did not realise that people could be offended by this video and that is why he had posted it. He still did not see it as racist but accepted that others might find it racist and acknowledged that he failed to see that.

It was submitted on behalf of Mr Rykov at the WRC that the sanction of dismissal was “disproportionate”.

Lawyers for Mr Rykov said that the video needed to be viewed in the context of it being stated from the outset that the content was a joke and a parody.

They also said that the video was shared on the MS Teams platform for less than 20 minutes and could only have been viewed by a maximum of five people.

The lawyers also argued that there was no appeal process and what took place was a flawed process in which Mr Rykov was not heard .

Mr Rykov said that he wanted to stay working for Equinix and that it was the best job he ever had.