White expat South African gets R1m after being called k-word in England

The British press has reported that a South African-born 35-year-old man who has lived in England since he was 18 has won a payout valued at about R1 million after being subjected to racial abuse.

Wayne Hoch reportedly worked as a steelworker at Thor Anderson Steel Fabrications in Ulverston, Cumbria, for a number of years, and was apparently targeted for being from Africa.

Abusive colleagues called him both the n-word and the k-word, despite the fact that he is white and blond.

His face was superimposed on to the photos of black people, partnered with mocking captions.

The Sun reports he was awarded £54,686 for constructive unfair dismissal and racial harassment following a hearing.

Hoch told the UK tabloids he’d been nearly suicidal due to the abuse and stress. He had worked at the company between 2014 and 2018, eventually resigning because he could take no more.

He was even called a “foreign c**t”, according to the The Dail Mail, while his boss reportedly dismissed the abuse as “office banter”.

The Westmorland Gazette reported details that in one incident someone shared an image of Hoch’s head photoshopped on to the body of a starving black child, captioned: “’Donate £1 a month to save this poor child.”

He was also photoshopped next to a black woman and her child, with the caption: “Congratulations Wayne on the newborn.”

(Compiled by Charles Cilliers)

For more news your way, download The Citizen’s app for iOS and Android.