EBD v Oxfordshire County Council — 2021

The claimant worked as a lunchtime supervisory assistant from 19 February 2018 to 3 June 2019. The tribunal heard direct discrimination complaints based on race and religion about the failure to provide a reference, two comments recorded in a social care referral, and a further allegation that her resignation was discriminatory constructive dismissal. It applied the Equality Act 2010 sections 13, 39 and 136, and the limitation provisions in section 123, and noted that the acts complained of were all before 9 April 2019.

On the reference issue, the headteacher failed to send the reference requested by another school on 10 December 2018, but the job offer had already been withdrawn on 17 December 2018 because the role was no longer needed. The tribunal found that this caused no detriment and was not less favourable treatment. On the social care referral, it found that the headteacher did say the claimant had been disciplined for holding a child's wrist, but she did so because she understood the March 2018 discussion as an informal warning and was acting under her safeguarding responsibilities, not because of race or religion. The tribunal also found that the discussion on 28 March 2018 had not been made sufficiently clear to the claimant as an informal verbal warning.

The tribunal further found that the comment recorded about the claimant's husband and the child's school experience came from the headteacher's conversations with staff and with the husband, and not from the husband's race or religion. Looking at the allegations in the round, it held that the claimant had not been treated less favourably because of race or religion. Because no underlying discrimination was found, the discriminatory constructive dismissal complaint failed. The tribunal also noted that, even if the claims had succeeded, they would have been out of time and no basis for extending time had been shown. No remedy was awarded.