Ms J Linde v University of East London — 2024

Ms J Linde brought complaints of race discrimination and victimisation against the University of East London. She said she had been treated less favourably because she was Eastern European, an EU citizen, and had a strong Russian or Eastern European accent, and she relied on earlier written complaints of race discrimination in 2017 and 2018 as protected acts. The respondent disputed both the complaints and the tribunal's jurisdiction.

The tribunal considered whether the claimant was an employee within section 83 Equality Act 2010 or a contract worker within section 41 Equality Act 2010. It found that the placement learning agreement was directed to securing a student placement with Richmond Fellowship, not to providing work for the claimant or engaging her services as an employee of the respondent. The claimant had acted as a Practice Educator on intermittent assignments, had no ongoing mutual obligations with the respondent, was not entitled to employment benefits, and could be replaced.

The tribunal also found that the claimant was not a contract worker because she had not been supplied by Richmond Fellowship to the respondent in furtherance of a relevant contract. The respondent had no duty to appoint her as a Practice Educator in 2021 or January 2022, and chose other placement providers whose proposed learning environments better suited its requirements.

Because the claimant was neither an employee nor a contract worker for Equality Act 2010 purposes, the tribunal held that it had no jurisdiction to consider the direct race discrimination and victimisation complaints. Both complaints were dismissed. No remedy was awarded.