British social worker uses n-word, loses job

A social worker who asked for her coffee to be made 'n***** brown' escaped with a caution after a panel accepted she was only referring to the strength of her hot drink.

Nichola Taylor was working for Stoke Council when she made the racist remark in a communal kitchen.

A colleague was so concerned she made a note of it and raised the matter with bosses who launched an investigation, prompting Taylor's dismissal last year.

Taylor had worked for Stoke Council since September 2007 and was appointed to the position of operational lead within the authority's Learning Disabilities Team in May 2011.

She was in a communal kitchen when the colleague asked how she liked her coffee on December 11, 2013, the Health and Care Professions Council heard.

'Ms Taylor told her colleague that she would like her coffee 'n*****-brown',' said Tom Orpin-Massey for the HCPC.

'The HCPC say this statement was racist and that it constitutes misconduct and as a result of that misconduct her fitness to practise is impaired.

Taylor denied the comment it was racist - citing Guy Gibson's dog in 1955 movie classic The Dam Busters as an example.

The social worker also highlighted the use of the word in certain music genres and pointed to its historic use in the textile industry which she was previously employed in.

Taylor was sacked by the council for gross misconduct after an investigation last June and was handed a caution order following a hearing at the HCPC.

'The panel has accepted that this racist phrase was used in relation to the strength of a cup of coffee,' said HCPC panel chair Claire Bonnet.

'It was not used as a descriptor of an individual nor directed at an individual.

Taylor, who was present and represented at the hearing, will have her HCPC registration marked with a caution order for a period of one year. 

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