Using f-word at work is no longer shocking, judge rules

Judge Andrew Gumbiti-Zimuto remarked that it is now “fairly commonplace” in British workplaces

Using the F-word at work no longer has the “shock value” it once did, according to a British judge (Getty Images)

Using the f-word at work no longer has the “shock value” it once did, a tribunal judge has ruled.

Andrew Gumbiti-Zimuto said that the phrase “I don’t give a f***” was now “fairly commonplace” in British workplaces, a statement he made whilst presiding over the case of an account manager who complained that her boss used it during a work meeting.

Hasmita Dadhania, 61, had attempted to sue software development company SAP (UK) for unfair dismissal and discrimination. She claimed that service sales manager Bruce Pell “belittled” her and micro-managed her, adding that he swore during the meeting.

"She states that during the meeting Mr Pell said ‘I don’t give a f*** that Shane is sponsoring it’," the tribunal heard.

Though the judge accepted that Mr Pell’s behaviour was “aggressive”, as per Mrs Dadhania’s description, he noted that the words he used were “fairly commonplace”.

"We considered Mrs Dadhania a believable witness and do not consider it is something she is likely to have made up. The words allegedly used in our view are fairly commonplace and do not carry the shock value they might have done in another time”, the judge said.

“The meeting on 20 April is described by witnesses present as ‘tense’ and ‘hard’ but ‘nothing personal’. We accept that the comment, though made by Mr Pell, was not intended to be offensive towards her,” he concluded.

Mrs Dadhania won her unfair dismissal claim as the tribunal concluded that SAP (UK) had failed to properly investigate the circumstances surrounding her being taken off accounts worth millions of pounds. However, she lost claims over age, race and sex discrimination and victimisation.

In 2021, a report published by the British Board of Film Classification (BBFC) analysed British attitudes towards swearing and found that six in 10 people said that strong language was a part of their daily lives. Around one third of people said they use it more than they did five years prior.

In the same study, 46 per cent of Gen Zs – those born after 1996 – reported that they use strong language frequently. Comparatively, the figure for 55-64-year-olds was 12 per cent.