EAT The employee, a black woman of West Indian origin, was found to have been unfairly dismissed and to have suffered race discrimination. The former finding rested on the fact that the employers had failed to act reasonably in assisting the employee to find alternative employment when she was made redundant and had not given priority in appointment to her as a redundant employee. The latter was based on her rejection for two posts for which she was interviewed and for which she appeared well qualified. The employers appealed both findings. As to the unfair dismissal finding, it was said that the employers had acted reasonably. As to the race discrimination finding, it was alleged that there were innocent non-discriminatory explanations for failing to appoint her which the tribunal should have accepted, or at least the tribunal should have said why they rejected them. The EAT held that the tribunal was entitled to conclude that the employers had acted unreasonably; and that reading the decision fairly it was plain that the tribunal had found the explanations unconvincing and unreliable such that the tribunal was obliged to infer race discrimination. Appeal dismissed.
Judges:
Elias J P
Citations:
[2006] UKEAT 0014 – 06 – 2806
Links:
Employment, Discrimination
Updated: 07 July 2022; Ref: scu.244046