Woman who accused M&S of racism has her discrimination claim dismissed

A personal assistant who accused Marks & Spencer of implementing a “racist” internal restructuring plan codenamed “Project Coffee” has lost discrimination and unfair dismissal claims against the retailer.

Claudia Royer, who worked as an assistant in M&S’s food and technology department for nine years, claimed “Project Coffee” was an initiative designed to recruit more personal assistants from different ethnic backgrounds and that the codename used the “racist trope”.

He also suggested that he was specifically asked to greet the new appointees because he was black. Ms Royer brought direct race discrimination, unfair dismissal and unpaid wages claims against M&S ​​following her dismissal in October 2023.

But an employment judge rejected their claims after M&S produced a document showing Project Coffee “had nothing to do with the recruitment of PAs” and was in fact merely a proposed restructuring plan.

In his ruling in September last year, Employment Judge Anthony Snelson said: “Unfortunately, the plaintiff, with his astonishing theory, has unshakably convinced the PA community that there is a secret program called ‘Project Coffee’ designed to better racially represent the world outside the defendant’s organisation.”

He added: “If he is right, it would be difficult to see how the existence of this scheme would harm the claimant, other than the fact that its name is offensive. But in any case, we are quite satisfied that there is no such scheme.”

The court heard Ms Royer was made redundant following a review and reorganization of the PA role within M&S Food Group in August 2023.

open image in gallery

He later wrote to the M&S chief executive detailing numerous complaints of unfair and discriminatory treatment; many of these were later repeated in court arguments.

Their complaint was initially handled as a formal complaint internally, but was dismissed in November 2023, with M&S stating that there was no evidence of discrimination and that its perception of the nature and purpose of Project Coffee was “highly flawed”.

M&S told the court that Project Coffee, which was launched in early 2019, was a restructuring plan unrelated to the recruitment of PAs.

Judge Snelson noted that around the same time, several newly appointed PAs were hired, including at least one black person, and Ms. Royer was asked to greet them when they arrived.

Dismissing all of Ms. Royer’s claims, the judge concluded that she “found herself taking positions that appeared to lose touch with reality and common sense.”

He further criticized his decision, stating: “Even after the plaintiff was shown a document clearly evidencing Project Coffee’s reference to a structural restructuring proposal, it reflects poorly on his judgment that he pursued the matter by resorting to the wild claim that the document had been fabricated.”

Judge Snelson also said he saw no harm in asking him to welcome his new colleagues, as it was a task “naturally within his remit”.