Miss W Shah v City of Bradford Metropolitan District Council — 2023

The tribunal rejected the claimant's direct race discrimination allegations. It found no credible basis to infer that the reallocation or non-restoration of CME work, the daily reporting arrangements during remote working, the conduct and recording of supervision meetings, the omission from the 5 May 2021 email, the 2021 restructure changes, or the delay in the EHWB referral were because of race. In several instances the tribunal accepted the respondent's explanation that the treatment reflected operational arrangements, earlier restructuring decisions, or administrative failures rather than racial motivation.

The harassment allegations were also dismissed. Although the tribunal accepted that the claimant was distressed by the 14 May 2021 telephone call and that Danielle Wilson raised her voice, it found no credible evidence that the conduct was related to race. It likewise found that the other matters relied on as harassment did not establish conduct related to race or treatment from which such an inference could properly be drawn.

Most victimisation allegations failed. The tribunal found that requiring the claimant to continue reporting to Danielle Wilson, asking her to attend the 16 June 2021 meeting, and offering a move to another team were pragmatic steps taken to manage an ongoing working relationship, not detriments materially caused by the protected act. It also found that the EHWB referral delay was a bureaucratic failure rather than victimisation.

The tribunal upheld only the victimisation claim concerning delay in progressing the grievance. It found that the respondent failed to conduct the grievance within its own procedural timescales, that the delay in commissioning the investigation was inordinate and inexcusable, and that no adequate explanation had been provided. The tribunal concluded that the delay was materially influenced by the fact and nature of the grievance alleging race discrimination, so a remedy hearing was required.