Mr C Singh v Rethink Recruitment Solutions Limited and 1 other — 2018

Mr C Singh brought Equality Act 2010 claims for direct race discrimination and victimisation against R1 and R2 in connection with a contractor role as Junior Business Analyst. The tribunal found the role and rate were fixed before he applied, that he was engaged at £320 per professional day including agency fee with a £290 daily rate paid to him, and that the comparators he relied on were not in materially the same circumstances because they were in more senior roles with different responsibilities and rates.

The tribunal rejected the claimant's case that he had been recruited as a Security Analyst or as Mr Brown's replacement. It found that the email relied on as a complaint of nationality and race discrimination on 8 May 2018 was a forgery and had not been sent to R1. It accepted that there may have been a discussion with Mr Rice about pay on that date, but not that the claimant had raised race discrimination. The later email of 13 September 2018 was treated as an equal pay complaint rather than a race complaint.

Because there was no protected act, the victimisation claim failed. The tribunal also held that the claims were out of time on the claimant's own account because he said he discovered the pay differential on 30 April 2018 and did not seek an extension of time. In any event, it found the contract ended because it was fixed term and expired, and that the decision not to renew it was linked to unsatisfactory performance and attendance rather than race or any protected act. All claims were dismissed and no remedy hearing was required.