Mrs C Browne v Brighton & Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust — 2020

Mrs C Browne, a black woman employed by Brighton & Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust as a ward manager, brought a victimisation claim arising from an HSJ article published on 8 July 2019 reporting comments made by the Trust's chief executive, Marianne Griffiths, at a conference. The tribunal accepted that, in principle, the claimant could rely by association on protected acts carried out by other members of the BME group.

The tribunal found that Ms Griffiths' reported comments were motivated by her experiences of dealing with complaints and tribunal claims from members of the BME group. It accepted that references to a number of employment tribunal cases, an 'extremist, very anti-organisational' BME structure, and 'brave things' were likely directed at the BME group and its related claims.

However, applying Shamoon, the tribunal held that the claimant herself had not suffered a detriment. It noted that she had not brought other claims, had not shown that she was intimidated or deterred from doing so, and was in fact pursuing this victimisation claim. The tribunal concluded objectively that the article was not to her detriment and struck the claim out under rule 37(1)(a) as having no reasonable prospects of success.