Mrs B. Knight v Havant and South Downs College — 2025

Mrs B. Knight brought a victimisation claim under section 27 of the Equality Act 2010 arising from a police report made on 10 May 2023 about her LinkedIn posts. The tribunal accepted that the acts relied on were protected acts, but found that the report was made by Leona Berry personally, using her own device and contact details, after she had become exasperated by posts that she understood to be directed at her and her professional reputation.

The tribunal accepted that Ms Berry was not directly involved in the earlier employment dispute, had not been personally responsible for the racial harassment found in the previous proceedings, and had not been acting at the College's direction when she reported the matter. It also rejected the suggestion that the College had encouraged or supported her to do so. Applying the former-employee provisions in section 108 of the Equality Act 2010, the tribunal held that the report was not closely connected to the past employment relationship and, in any event, Ms Berry was not acting in the course of her employment.

The tribunal noted that the police took no further action and that the claimant was not investigated, charged or cautioned. It accepted, however, that a report to police of this kind was capable of amounting to a detriment. The claim nonetheless failed because the tribunal found that the report was prompted by Ms Berry's personal reaction to what she saw as harassment and false statements about her, rather than because the claimant had done protected acts. No remedy was awarded.