Indian-Born Call Center Employee Wins $10K over Accent Dispute

November 29, 2007 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Told his speech "wasn't English enough," an Indian-born British citizen who works for a U.K. telecommuniations firm has won $10,000 in a discrimination lawsuit over the issue.

The Bedford Employment Tribunal agreed with his claim he had suffered both direct and indirect discrimination and awarded him $10,000 for hurt feelings and expenses, the Times of London reported.

Chetankumar Meshram, 27, charged in his legal papers that the Talk Talk Direct company sent him to New Delhi to work in its call center there for two months, but sent him home after three weeks because of his accent, the report said.

“I know I speak with an accent but my job out there was to give technical advice, not to give expertise on how to communicate,” said Meshram, who emigrated to England two years ago, according to the Times of London.

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