Mr JA Vashkar v Voyage Care and 1 other — 2024

The claimant complained of direct race discrimination based on colour, national origin or nationality. He withdrew his ordinary unfair dismissal claim because he did not have the required two years' continuous employment, and the tribunal recorded that there was no automatic unfair dismissal claim.

The claimant had been dismissed after taking photographs of a service user and using the service user's device to access the internet. The tribunal recorded that there was no dispute that the claimant took photographs, including of the service user simulating or actually rubbing his genitals, and no dispute that he used the device.

The tribunal considered the claimant's case at its highest. It found that he could not point to a white British employee who had taken similar photographs, or to the respondent knowing of such conduct by others, and that general assertions about racist attitude or disproportionate dismissal were unspecific. Applying the strike-out test, the tribunal concluded that the claim that dismissal was because of race had no reasonable prospect of success and was doomed to fail.