Wrexham fast food employee lost his job after he wrote racist slur at bottom of pizza box

Sam Hemingway, 23, of Prices Lane, worked as a supervisor at the Island Green based pizza outlet, where Nathaniel Ramsey was also working as a delivery driver under his supervision.

Anouska Youds, prosecuting, told Mold Magistrates Court how Hemingway had informed Mr Ramsey about the fact he was entitled to a free pizza during lunchtime and that on February 17 last year, how he had placed an order for one with his supervisor.

Image: CPS

When it was ready, Mr Ramsay took it outside to eat, where he discovered that underneath the pizza, the word "Gollywog" had been written in blue ink on the bottom of the box and the side of it, the name "Toby" had been scrawled in the same colour. Mr Ramsay told police officers when he made his complaint that he believed the name "Toby" to be referring to one of the character's from the 1970's television series "Roots" which dealt with the subject matter of slavery.

The names 'Toby' and 'Kunta Kinte' are believed to related to slave characters in Roots

A similar incident occurred on February 26 when Mr Ramsay again ordered a pizza from Hemingway for his lunch and noticed how the name "Kunta Kinte" had been written on an order board and was clearly on display within the lobby area. Kunta Kinte is another character from the television series and when Mr Ramsey confronted Hemingway, he laughed and confirmed it was him who had written it and replied "yes" when asked if it was okay to be racist in the workplace.

Mr Ramsay had told police how he had passed off previous instances of racist language and comments as "banter" but how these latest incidents had left him feeling segregated and had since lost his employment as a result.

Ian Barnes, defending, told the court how Hemingway had lost his good character in a significant way following the incidents but explained how even the victim in this case had referred to the pair's previous verbal exchanges as "banter". Mr Barnes went on to explain how Mr Ramsey himself had referred to Hemingway as a paedophile after the supervisor had had to interview a 16-year-old for a job at the popular pizza chain.

Mr Ramsay also referred to German born Hemingway as "Mein Fuhrer" and according to Mr Barnes, the pair had enjoyed a good relationship both in and outside work, which included invites to birthday parties, while one had also recently helped the other to move house.

Mr Barnes went on to say that his client wasn't sure why Mr Ramsay had taken until October last year to report the incident, but cited the likely manner by which Domino's had dealt with the incident had potentially been a factor. He added how Hemingway had also lost his job over his behaviour and was now working as a full-time chef and that he was embarrassed by the things he had said.

Mr Barnes said: "This is a case of banter that's just got out of hand and crossed boundaries."

Andy Stubbs, Chair of Magistrates, told Hemingway his behaviour had "gone beyond banter" and said: "Some would say it was very childish behaviour in the workplace".

Hemingway was fined £300 for each of the two racially aggravated incidents, must pay Mr Ramsay £100 compensation and pay court costs of £85 and a surcharge of £30.