Lyca Radio Presenter says she was Axed due to Indian Accent

A presenter claimed she was a victim of racism after she was replaced on Lyca Radio because of her Indian accent.

Soma Sarkar told a tribunal that she had been a victim of race discrimination when she was dropped from a daily show she had presented for two years.

But Lyca Radio’s CEO said the decision to appoint a new host with an English accent was because Ms Sarkar’s performance was deemed “dreary”.

Three other presenters were sacked to bring in new radio hosts and give the station “more energy and a higher public profile”.

The hearing was told that Ms Sarkar worked for Lyca Radio between February 1, 2019, and June 3, 2021.

It was heard that presenters on the station are all “of either British Indian, British Pakistani, Indian or Pakistani heritage”.

Ms Sarkar presented a show on weeknights between 7 pm and 10 pm.

In early January 2021, Lyca Media II Ltd appointed a new CEO who reviewed the business.

Raj Baddhan told Ms Sarkar she was being temporarily removed on February 5. But this ended up being her last show.

Ms Sarkar was replaced by a presenter known professionally as Radio Walli.

The tribunal was told: “[Ms Sarkar] identified as being of Indian origin and said she speaks with an Indian accent.

“She said that she was replaced on her radio show by a presenter with an English accent.”

By March 2021, Ms Sarkar denied that she was claiming her sacking was due to racism. She then made nepotism accusations, claiming the CEO was related to the new presenter.

She said: “I have always maintained that the cessation was on grounds which were strictly not based on performance as it is understood that the presenter who replaced me used to do radio shows either on very late nights or on late weekends but definitely not on prime evening like me.

“This act of ignoring an established radio presenter of two years for a not similarly placed person can only happen when the new person is related to the CEO somehow, irrespective of race or ethnicity of the person concerned.

“Indeed it can be construed as a clear case of discrimination on grounds of an attempt to take care of one’s own and known.”

Ms Sarkar rejected a settlement offer of £10,000.

She continued to pursue a race discrimination claim as well as an unfair dismissal claim.

Employment Judge Stephen Shore ruled that Ms Sarkar was unreasonable to continue making her claim.

He said:

“The value of [Ms Sarkar]’s claim was nowhere near the sum set out in [Ms Sarkar]’s Schedule of Loss.”

“£5,000 and £10,000 were both reasonable offers.

“In all the circumstances, we found that [Ms Sarkar]’s conduct was unreasonable in continuing her claims after the [station’s] email of 29 April 2024.”

According to the tribunal, it did not have jurisdiction to consider her race discrimination complaint because she was a freelancer and not technically an employee.

Ms Sarkar lost claims of unfair dismissal, failure to pay notice pay and holiday pay, and direct and indirect race discrimination.