A personal assistant who sued Marks and Spencer for race discrimination over a reorganisation plan named 'Project Coffee' has had her case dismissed by an employment tribunal. Claudia Royer claimed the code name was a 'racist trope' referring to plans to hire more diverse PAs, but the London Central Tribunal found her allegations 'wild' and lacking in common sense.
Ms Royer, who worked for the high street chain for nine years, was made redundant in October 2023 as part of a reorganisation of PAs in the Foods group. She subsequently raised a formal grievance, alleging that 'Project Coffee' was a secret initiative to recruit PAs from diverse backgrounds. M&S insisted the name referred to a wider company restructuring launched in 2019 and had nothing to do with racial representation.
The tribunal heard that several newly-appointed PAs, including at least one black person, were appointed around the same time as the reorganisation, and Ms Royer was asked to greet them. M&S manager Rachel Lowe found that Ms Royer was 'quite mistaken' in her perception of Project Coffee. An appeal against the dismissal of her grievance was also unsuccessful.
Employment judge Anthony Snelson said Ms Royer had become 'unshakeably convinced' by her 'surprising theory' of a secret programme, and that pursuing the matter even after being shown documentary evidence that 'Project Coffee' referred to a structural reorganisation reflected poorly on her judgement. He added that asking her to welcome new colleagues was a natural part of her role.
The tribunal found that Ms Royer was dismissed because her role was redundant, and all her claims, including for unfair dismissal, failed.
