Mr A I Malik v AI-Mubarakia Limited — 2023

The claimant, Mr A I Malik, was employed by AI-Mubarakia Limited from 20 May 2016 and became Group Facilities Manager in October 2017. The tribunal found that, before 2020, he was regarded as hardworking, committed and loyal, and that there had been no significant problems in the working relationship. It also found that he repeatedly raised maintenance issues at the respondent's properties, including Wildwood and 25 Princes Gate, but that required expenditure was not authorised by Madame Al-Hassawi.

On 23 June 2020, at a Webex meeting the claimant did not attend, Madame Al-Hassawi repeatedly used offensive language about him, including calling him a moron, idiot, scum and low-life, and saying he was 'the son of 16 donkeys'. The tribunal found that she had already decided by then that his employment would be terminated. It further found that the subsequent redundancy consultation and grievance process did not amount to a genuine consideration of alternatives, and that the respondent later acted as though he had already left employment, including removing him from staff groups, asking for handover information and telling tenants that he no longer worked there.

Applying section 98 ERA 1996, section 139 ERA 1996, Williams v Compair Maxam Ltd, Crown v British Coal Corporation ex parte Price (No. 3), section 111A ERA 1996, Polkey and Software 2000 Ltd v Andrews, the tribunal rejected redundancy and capability as fair reasons for dismissal. It found that the respondent had shifted its case between redundancy, misconduct, other substantial reason and capability, that the role of Group Facilities Manager was not genuinely removed before the dismissal decision, and that Mr Lee's report was produced after the event in an attempt to justify a decision already taken. The dismissal was therefore unfair, and the tribunal made no deduction for Polkey or contributory fault.

For direct race discrimination, the tribunal applied section 136 Equality Act 2010 and the Igen/Madarassy burden-shifting approach. It found that race was a material cause of the dismissal, including because Madame Al-Hassawi said on or about 6 July 2020 that she hated 'crook Pakistanis like Malik' and would not have hired him if she had known he was Pakistani. For harassment, applying section 26 Equality Act 2010 and Richmond Pharmacology v Dhaliwal, it held that the offensive comments made on 23 June 2020 and in early July 2020 were unwanted and were related to race. The tribunal also found that the claimant was contractually entitled to carry forward 57.7 days of untaken holiday at termination. No quantified monetary award was recorded in this judgment.