Mr Dick Sibanda v Lufthansa Technik Landing Gear Services Ltd — 2024

Mr Dick Sibanda, a Black British employee of Lufthansa Technik Landing Gear Services Ltd, brought two claims: unlawful deduction from wages and direct race discrimination. The wages complaint concerned an alleged shortfall of £2,928 for the period 1 November 2019 to 31 October 2021. The Tribunal found that the last alleged deduction was on 31 October 2021, so the limitation deadline was 30 January 2022, and that the claim form presented on 30 May 2022 was out of time.

On limitation, the Tribunal held it was reasonably practicable for the claimant to present the wages claim in time. It accepted that he was hoping for an internal resolution, but found he had access to internet and union support throughout the relevant period, and that he had been told on 15 November 2021 that the increased salary would not be backdated. The Tribunal also found that the later ACAS early conciliation period did not rescue the claim because it began after the January 2022 deadline. As the claim was out of time, the Tribunal did not determine whether any unlawful deductions had in fact been made.

The race discrimination complaint concerned three matters: the decision to give Jonathan Worsley the acting-up Nightshift Team Leader role, the timing of the advert for the permanent team leader role, and the eventual appointment of Mr Worsley to the permanent role. The Tribunal found that Mr Worsley expressed interest in the acting-up role after the resignation of the existing team leader, whereas the claimant did not. It held that the respondent’s decision to ask Mr Worsley to step up was driven by that expression of interest, not by race, and that there was no evidence the claimant was denied an opportunity to apply for the acting-up post.

As to the permanent role, the Tribunal found the advert went live because the recruitment request and approval process had been completed, and that the timing was a coincidence not influenced by the claimant’s holiday or his race. It also found that the claimant should have seen the job email when he returned from holiday, but did not read it, and that he did not apply for the permanent role. On that basis, the Tribunal held race was not a factor in any of the challenged decisions and dismissed the direct race discrimination claim.