In person For the v Respondent — 2022

Mr Sarkar, a former Metropolitan Police Service constable whose employment ended in 2003, applied in December 2021 to the College of Policing for a Senior Administrator role. The College made a conditional offer subject to pre-employment checks. The Metropolitan Police Service carried out vetting under a written service level agreement, refused clearance on 5 March 2022, and the College withdrew the offer on 17 May 2022 after the appeal was refused.

At the preliminary hearing the claimant said he was pursuing claims of direct discrimination because of race and because of religion or belief, together with victimisation. The tribunal held that the claims had no reasonable prospect of success because the claimant was not an employee, applicant, contract worker, or otherwise within a Part 5 gateway against the respondent. The judge found that the reference in the 17 May 2022 appeal letter to an application for a role within the Metropolitan Police Service was an error and was inconsistent with the other documents showing that the claimant had applied to the College of Policing.

The tribunal also rejected reliance on s.108 EqA 2010. It held that the employment relationship between the claimant and the respondent had ended in 2003, some 19 years before the vetting decision, and that the vetting process arose from the commercial service level agreement with the College of Policing rather than from the earlier employment relationship. The tribunal further held that the claimant had not pleaded facts engaging s.111 or s.112 EqA 2010. The race discrimination and religion or belief discrimination claims, each pleaded with victimisation, were struck out under Rule 37(1)(a) of the ET Rules.