Mr J Sheng, counsel For the v Respondent — 2024

The claimant worked as a chauffeur for the High Commission of Brunei Darussalam from 16 March 1998 until his dismissal on 17 October 2013. The tribunal considered direct discrimination allegations based on race and religion or belief arising from warning letters, disciplinary action, suspension, grievance handling, dismissal on 18 October 2013, and the appeal heard in his absence. It found that the respondent took a "cavalier approach" to disciplinary matters and grievance handling, but that unfairness alone did not prove discrimination.

Applying sections 13, 23 and 136 of the Equality Act 2010 and the burden of proof principles in Igen Ltd v Wong, Hewage and Madarassy, the tribunal held that the claimant's comparators were not in materially comparable circumstances and that there was no sufficient "something more" from which to infer that race or religion was the reason for the treatment. It therefore dismissed both the race and the religion/belief discrimination claims.

On holiday pay, the tribunal accepted that the claimant had not taken leave in the final holiday year. It applied the EU minimum holiday entitlement of 20 days and the principle in Smith v Pimlico Plumbers Ltd that untaken leave can carry over where the worker has not had the opportunity to exercise the right. Using the claimant's gross weekly pay of £377.50, it calculated 3.2 weeks of accrued but untaken leave for the period from 1 January 2013 to 18 October 2013 and awarded £1,208 gross.

The separate section 1 Employment Rights Act 1996 claim for failure to provide written particulars failed because the tribunal found that the respondent had provided written terms and conditions of employment. The judgment therefore recorded a single monetary award of £1,208 gross, subject to any valid tax or national insurance set-off noted by the tribunal.