A black HR manager has lost a race discrimination case after her boss asked her about her ‘inner chimp’ during a meeting about ‘Chimp Paradox’ theory.
Lindani Sibanda was offended when Clinisupplies chief executive Paul Cook asked her in a meeting how she kept ‘the chimp at bay’, an employment tribunal was told.
The question was a reference to the ‘Chimp Paradox’, a mind management tool used to differentiate between irrational, emotional thoughts and rational ones.
It was coined by psychiatrist Steve Peters and has been used to help Olympic gold medallists Victoria Pendleton and Sir Chris Hoy to victory on the cycling track.
But Miss Sibanda claimed to be unaware of it and, after she left the firm, took them to the tribunal claiming she had faced racial discrimination. However, the tribunal rejected her case, concluding the question by Mr Cook was ‘not related to race’.
Lindani Sibanda was an HR manager at Clinisupplies in Watford and earnt £37,000 a year
Nevertheless, it did note that ‘potential offence is clear’ and should be ‘born in mind’ by bosses when discussing the theory which divides inner feelings into the rational (human) and irrational (chimp).
The hearing was told Miss Sibanda earned £37,000 a year working as an HR manager for Clinisupplies, which manufactures and markets healthcare products.
The tribunal was told that in the build up to a conference in March 2018, a briefing session was held where attendees were asked to prepare their own examples for ‘keeping the chimp at bay’.
Employees were asked to think of ‘your experiences of chimp moments, how you reacted and what the impact was’, the panel heard.
Miss Sibanda attended the workshop as a member of a group which were bringing ‘cultural change’ to the organisation.
The hearing was told: ‘One tool they used and which they was teaching to the organisation was the Chimp Paradox, which we understand… to be a widely known theory of mind management.
‘They would encourage attendees to be aware of the impact of their emotions on their actions and on others which would affect their performance and that of the company.’
During the one-on-one meeting, Mr Cook made the comment which was also referred to during meetings and official documentation, the panel heard.
Although she was ‘offended’ by it at the time, Miss Sibanda told the tribunal she ‘appreciated’ that the phrase was used ‘in a well-known and established mind management tool’.
But she claimed the phrase was never used during the workshop, and was used by Mr Cook ‘without context’.
However, the tribunal heard that she never complained about the use of the phrase and rejected her claim to be unaware of it.
The hearing was also told that in May 2018, a junior employee raised a grievance against Miss Sibanda for her ‘oppressive’ management style.
This led to a clash with HR director Amanda Cass, whom she accused of speaking to her in a ‘derogatory, condescending and dismissive’ way.
Miss Sibanda was offended when the company chief executive Paul Cook (pictured) asked her during a meeting how she kept ‘the chimp at bay’, an employment tribunal was told
After Miss Sibanda handed in her own grievance claiming she was being racially discriminated against, bosses at the firm concluded she wanted to leave the company and invited her to a meeting to discuss her future.
But she went on sick leave due to stress for two months and in June 2018, sent her employment tribunal claim form to her bosses – which they interpreted as her resignation.
Miss Sibanda claimed at the tribunal that she had been sacked and made claims for unfair dismissal, race discrimination and harassment and victimisation.
Dismissing her claims, the tribunal – headed by employment judge Sarah George – concluded: ‘We reject [Miss Sibanda’s] evidence that she was unaware of (the chimp) theory at the time and we reject her evidence that it was not discussed in the workshop she attended.
‘We are very aware that this is language which is misused by some and that there are well publicised, deplorable incidents of racist language which includes the word chimp being used of a black person.
The hearing was told that a junior employee raised a grievance against Miss Sibanda for her ‘oppressive’ management style. This led to a clash with HR director Amanda Cass (pictured), whom she accused of speaking to her in a ‘derogatory, condescending and dismissive’ way
‘Therefore, there is need for the context of training of this sort to be absolutely clear because there is the potential for unwitting offence to be caused.
‘Nonetheless, in the present case, we are quite satisfied that its use in documentation and by Paul Cook was with reference to this psychological theory and was not related to race and that that was known by and must have been understood by her.
‘She may have been upset by the use of this phrase because of its connotations with racist language and the company may wish to reflect on this.
‘We accept, and it is common ground, that the ‘Chimp Paradox’ is a psychological theory widely used as a tool to encourage people to understand their strengths and weaknesses in various fields of life.’
Miss Sibanda will receive £250 for unauthorised deduction from wages due to unpaid long service award.