Miss Jessica Amadou v The Co-Operative Group Ltd and 1 other — 2023

The Claimant, a Black African agency worker at the First Respondent's Thurrock depot, brought complaints of direct race discrimination, race-related harassment and victimisation arising from events between March and May 2021. The complaints concerned alleged treatment by a colleague, Mr Girbea, responses by managers and agency staff to her complaints, rota decisions, performance management, and later interactions with other staff.

The Tribunal found that some factual allegations occurred in whole or in part, including that Mr Girbea behaved inappropriately towards the Claimant at points, that some investigations or feedback by managers were insufficient, and that the Claimant was not placed on the rota during some periods. However, it found that the proven conduct was not because of race and, for the harassment claim, was not related to race. It accepted explanations including concerns about performance, attempts to manage workplace conflict, communication difficulties, and the operational context around the TUPE transfer.

For victimisation, the Tribunal found that the Claimant's 11 March 2021 written complaint and 24 April 2021 verbal allegation were protected acts. It nevertheless concluded that the proven detriments were not done because of those protected acts. The claims for direct race discrimination, race-related harassment and victimisation were therefore dismissed.