Sana Knaneh v Judith Elkan, Deborah Nissenbaum, Amnon Daniel Smith & Brian Humphreys (Trustees of UK Friends of Bereaved Families Forum) — 2019

The tribunal extended time for Equality Act complaints that were outside the primary limitation period, applying the s.123 and s.140B EA 2010 framework and taking account of the claimant's attempts to resolve matters internally, the absence of identified prejudice to the respondents, and her dependence on continued employment for her visa status.

On pay, the tribunal accepted Ms Taylor as the relevant comparator and rejected the respondents' argument that her self-employed label created a material difference. It found that the claimant was paid significantly less than Ms Taylor for the same work, that her 22 August 2019 request for a salary increase was refused, and that making any increase contingent on fundraising was less favourable treatment because of race. The tribunal was not satisfied by the respondents' explanation that the difference was due to employment status.

The tribunal rejected the other direct race discrimination complaint, including the biography wording issue, because it did not find that Ms Elkan moved the sentence or that the act was otherwise proved. Most of the race-related harassment complaints also failed because the tribunal found the complained-of conduct was not related to race or did not meet the statutory test. The only victimisation complaint that succeeded was Mr Cohen's telephone call on 28 June 2019, where he tried to force the claimant to attend a meeting on a date she had said she could not attend and threatened consequences if she did not; the tribunal found that this was because she had made protected acts, including race discrimination complaints.

The wrongful dismissal claim failed because the tribunal found the claimant's conduct over the preceding months amounted to gross misconduct and that summary dismissal without notice was justified. The unlawful deductions claim failed because the contract did not give her an entitlement to overtime or expenses without prior agreement, and the holiday pay claim failed because unused 2019 leave could not be carried forward without board consent and five days of 2020 holiday had already been paid. The tribunal also refused the claimant's costs application.