EAT DISCRIMINATION BY QUALIFYING/QUALIFICATIONS BODY
A medical professional who had taken a career break sought to return to her work as a biomedical scientist, for which she required to be registered anew by the Health Professions Council. She was deterred from applying when it indicated in correspondence that her qualifications were not sufficient to be recognised, and wished to bring a claim alleging discrimination on the grounds of sex, race and age against the HPC, since (in particular) a doctor resident abroad who applied for registration with her qualifications would (she claimed) be acceptable, whereas she was not. When she claimed, the Employment Judge first accepted jurisdiction, then on review declined jurisdiction but on a basis the parties agreed to be erroneous. The relevant statutes all provide that for there to be a claim of discrimination against a qualifying (or qualifications) body, it must be ‘in the terms on which it is prepared to confer a professional or trade qualification on him’. It was held on appeal that this phrase did not cover letters to the Claimant saying that certain qualifications would not be accepted if she were to apply. Nor was there refusal of an application, since none had yet been made. Accordingly, there was no jurisdiction, since the Act did not provide for it. The Claimant was not without remedy, since it remained open to her to apply.
Judges:
Langstaff J P
Citations:
[2012] UKEAT 0169 – 11 – 1307
Links:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Employment, Discrimination
Updated: 03 November 2022; Ref: scu.462930
