In person For the v Respondent — 2020

Mr O Oladepo, who was of black African ethnic origin, worked for E.on Energy Solutions Ltd as a trainee Smart Meter Installer from 5 June 2017. The tribunal accepted the respondent's evidence that a mock MOCOPA audit took place on 30 June 2017 and that the claimant made 24 unsafe errors during that assessment. It also accepted the respondent's contemporaneous records and witness evidence about concerns raised during training, including observations on 3 August 2017 that the claimant was not following safety procedures.

The tribunal found that the claimant's suspension on 15 August 2017, the restart of the investigation into his unsafe working practices, the first written warning on 20 December 2017, and the decision not to start him on gas-meter training were all driven by safety concerns and by his failure to accept criticism, not by race. On the restart of the investigation, the majority concluded that there was no basis to infer race discrimination, although Mr Sagar dissented and would have inferred discrimination from the way the investigation was disbanded and restarted.

The harassment allegations also failed. The claimant withdrew the allegation attributed to Mr Baptiste, and the tribunal found that Ms Usher did not say that she would put the claimant's portfolio in the dustbin. It further held that the audit of the claimant's van on 30 August 2017 was not unwanted conduct related to race. Applying the EqA 2010 burden of proof framework and the harassment test under section 26, the tribunal dismissed the race discrimination claims and the remaining harassment claims, and no monetary remedy was awarded.