The employees commenced a series of sex discrimination claims against the appellant. Many had settled, and the council wrote directly to the remaining claimants. The claimants said this amounted to intimidation because the council had not gone through their legal representatives, and as such was victimisation.
Held: The council’s appeal succeeded. The tribunal had not found that the employer had acted other than reasonably, and had erred to concluding that there had been victimisation. Mummery LJ (dissenting): ‘The employment tribunal was entitled to conclude that the Applicants were subjected to treatment, which was less favourable and detrimental, and which was not suffered by the comparators in like circumstances. As the Applicants were still bringing their equal pay claims against the Council, they were vulnerable to pressures from the Council to abandon or settle their claims. The pressures could take the form of inducing fear of the consequences of successful claims, as asserted by the Council to them and to their colleagues in the letters. ‘
Judges:
Mummery LJ, Jonathan Parker LJ, Lloyd LJ
Citations:
[2005] EWCA Civ 977, Times 26-Aug-2005, [2006] ICR 90, [2005] IRLR 801
Links:
Statutes:
Jurisdiction:
England and Wales
Citing:
Cited – Shamoon v Chief Constable of the Royal Ulster Constabulary HL 27-Feb-2003
The applicant was a chief inspector of police. She had been prevented from carrying out appraisals of other senior staff, and complained of sex discrimination.
Held: The claimant’s appeal failed. The tribunal had taken a two stage approach. It . .
Cited – Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police v Khan HL 11-Oct-2001
The claimant was a police sergeant. After many years he had not been promoted. He began proceedings for race discrimination. Whilst those were in course, he applied for a post elsewhere. That force wrote to his own requesting a reference. In the . .
Cited – Cornelius v University College of Swansea CA 1987
A college declined to act on an employee’s transfer request or to operate their grievance procedure while proceedings under the 1975 Act, brought by the employee against the college, were still awaiting determination. The college was trying to . .
Cited by:
Appeal from – St Helens Borough Council v Derbyshire and others HL 25-Apr-2007
The claimants were pursuing an action for equal pay. Several others settled their own actions, and the respondents then wrote direct to the claimants expressing their concern that the action ws being continued and its possible effects. The claimants . .
Lists of cited by and citing cases may be incomplete.
Employment, Discrimination
Updated: 06 July 2022; Ref: scu.229152