VICTIMISATION
Following the hearing of a (second) ET claim against the Respondent (which included claims for race discrimination and victimisation) in February 2017 the Claimant was suspended and then dismissed by the Respondent on the grounds that there had been an irretrievable breakdown in the relationship between him and the staff in the Unit where he worked and the Respondent generally. On the Claimant’s further claim for victimisation the ET found that the suspension did not amount to a ‘detriment’ and that the protected act(s) were not cause of the dismissal.
The appeal was allowed and the case remitted to the ET:
(1) The ET were wrong to find that the suspension did not amount to a detriment: the Claimant had given evidence that he regarded it as a detriment and that opinion was reasonable in all the circumstances; the lack of medical or other evidence of detriment was irrelevant.
(2) In considering the issue of causation the ET had not referred to the relevant case law (in particular Martin v Devonshire Solicitors [2010] UKEAT/0086/10) and had not considered what the cause of the breakdown in the relationship was and whether it was or was not properly separable from the making of the claims which amounted to protected acts.
Judges:
His Honour Judge Shanks
Citations:
[2021] UKEAT 2019-000928
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment
Updated: 06 June 2022; Ref: scu.677771