Isabella Brunton Succeeds in Defence of Race Discrimination Complaints

Isabella succeeded in defending claims of direct race discrimination in the case of Mr W Arif v Anchor Hanover Group ET (6017926/2024).

Following a 3-day trial in Leeds Employment Tribunal, the panel held that the Respondent had demonstrated non-discriminatory reasons for all 4 allegations pursued. The Claimant attempted to rely on the s.136 Equality Act 2010 burden of proof to demonstrate that in relation to specific comparators, the tribunal could draw inferences of racial motive for its conduct, which included the decision to dismiss. The tribunal rightly concluded (with reference to Madarassy v Nomura International plc [2007] EWCA Civ 33) that inferences are not enough to find that the Respondent had committed an unlawful act of discrimination and that it must consider all relevant non-discriminatory factors for the conduct.