A BT worker from Dundee has secured nearly £11,000 in compensation after an employment tribunal determined his sacking was unjust.
Jack Caird, a customer service advisor who had worked for the telecommunications company since October 2019, was terminated for gross misconduct in February 2025 following an investigation into messages he posted on BT's internal communication system.
The dismissal centred partly on his use of the phrase "Arab b******" directed at a colleague who supports Dundee United.
The term referred to the Scottish club's longstanding nickname, dating back to the 1960s.
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Judge Jude Shepherd concluded at a hearing in October 2025 that his dismissal was "procedurally and substantively unfair".
Caird was awarded £10,926.46.
The tribunal examined three messages that had raised concerns among BT management.
The first was Caird's response to a colleague's birthday greeting.
A BT worker from Dundee has secured nearly £11,000 in compensation after an employment tribunal determined his sacking was unjust
|He had called the recipient an "Arab b******", a jibe aimed at a Dundee United supporter with whom he regularly exchanged football banter.
The second involved Caird sharing a screenshot of an internal email promoting Islamophobia Awareness Month, accompanied by the comments "a full month" and "cos that's what this nation needs right now".
His third message, sent on October 31, 2024, mentioned plans to visit Warsaw and Auschwitz, prompting a colleague to respond, asking him to bring back shoes.
Caird, a Dundee FC supporter, maintained during the investigation that his comment was simply football rivalry banter and carried no intention to cause offence, though he accepted the language was inappropriate for work.
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Judge Jude Shepherd concluded at a hearing in October 2025 that his dismissal was 'procedurally and substantively unfair'
|BT's Insight and Optimisation Manager initially accepted this explanation, determining the allegation was not well-founded given the established nickname for United fans.
However, when Caird appealed his dismissal on February 14, 2025, senior manager Jeremy Smitham took a different view.
Judge Smitham reversed the earlier decision.
He declared the phrase constituted a "serious breach" of company policies and used this to uphold the termination despite the original disciplinary hearing having dropped the allegation entirely.
The term referred to the football club's longstanding nickname, dating back to the 1960s
|GETTY
Judge Shepherd determined that dismissing Caird for questioning the duration of Islamophobia Awareness Month or for not reporting colleagues' comments fell outside "the range of reasonable responses" available to BT.
She said: "The claimant had not been dismissed for use of the phrase 'Arab b******' as it had been accepted that this was not racially discriminatory and instead referred to the nickname for Dundee United fans."
Although this allegation was dismissed in its entirety at the initial disciplinary stage, it was subsequently relied upon to uphold his dismissal on appeal.
Caird has since found new employment with Virgin Media, starting in November 2025.
A BT Group spokeman said: "We respect the Tribunal’s finding and will be complying with the outcome."
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