Claims racial and ethnic discrimination

A former charity worker is claiming an Edinburgh-based organisation sacked her for being French.  

Lydia Magloire says her former employer, Earth in Common, is guilty of racial and ethnic discrimination because of her broken English and nationality.

The 49-year-old told an Edinburgh employment tribunal she was “humiliated” by the charity and said it was difficult to understand a manager who had a “strong Aberdeen accent”.

Magloire, who represented herself at the tribunal, alternated between answering questions in English and speaking through an interpreter.

After beginning employment at the charity in 2021 as a coordinator, her employment was terminated on August 21, 2023 after Earth in Common dismissed Magloire for “unsatisfactory performance.”

Earth in Common was founded in 2013 by Evie Murray in an effort to give locals access to outdoor spaces in an urban environment. It repurposed unused land at the northern extremity of Leith Links into community crofts.

The charity also runs a cafe and farm shop, which sells local produce.

When asked by a lawyer representing the charity how she was discriminated against, Magloire replied that she “couldn’t speak English properly” at the time and that she was “humiliated” by the organisation on this basis, saying, “I couldn’t express myself clearly in English.”

The court heard Magloire also felt “unsupported” in reporting an incident involving a volunteer at the charity to police. She raised concerns with her employer but said it did not sensitively respond.

However, Earth in Common said she was dismissed after she refused to engage with email correspondence, lead workshops, and also booked an extended holiday without approval during one of the charity’s busiest months in 2023.

But Magloire contested that her boss Evie Murray was aware of her intention to take holiday and that she booked the trip prior to her leave being approved to secure cheaper tickets.

On being sacked, Magloire said: “I was very sad. I invested myself a lot in the company. I was totally destroyed emotionally.”

Subsequently she found work as a groundskeeper with another charity, Edinburgh Zoo.

The tribunal continues.