1. Emily Coffey 2. Tracey Bocking v The Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police — 2022

This was a public preliminary hearing on the respondent's application to strike out the claimants' claims, or alternatively for deposit orders. The issue was whether Merseyside Police and/or DCC Green acted as agent of the respondent for the purposes of s.109(2) Equality Act 2010, so that the respondent could be liable for alleged discriminatory acts. The tribunal took the claimants' cases at their highest and did not decide the merits of the discrimination allegations.

The claimants alleged that conduct by ACC Green, including micromanagement, referral to professional standards, allegations about the diary email, termination of their secondments, and alleged failure to implement grievance recommendations, amounted to direct sex discrimination, harassment and/or victimisation. The respondent argued that ACC Green was not its agent, that it had not ratified his actions, and that it had not knowingly helped any Equality Act contravention.

The tribunal found that it was reasonably arguable that ACC Green and Merseyside Police were acting as agents of the respondent under s.109(2) Equality Act 2010. It relied on matters including the claimants' continuing employment by the respondent, the collaborative and secondment agreements, ACC Green's management role, and the need for an effective remedy. The strike out and deposit applications were refused, the ratification argument did not need to be decided, and the s.112 knowingly-helping argument was left for any final hearing.