Ms Hutchison and Mr McPherson Mr Muhammad Wasi v Glasgow City Council — 2024

The claimant, who identified as being of Pakistani ethnicity, was dismissed after a disciplinary process concerning events following a restaurant inspection. The respondent relied on conduct matters including meeting a client out of hours, failure to report the incident promptly, alleged information security issues, and delayed reporting of a violent incident. The tribunal did not accept that the claimant had reported the incident to his line manager shortly after it occurred, and found that a disputed comment attributed to the dismissing officer was not made.

The claimant relied on a white Scottish employee, referred to as Mr J, as a comparator. The tribunal found that Mr J was not a valid comparator because there were material differences in the circumstances, including that Mr J reported the complaint and police contact immediately, did not meet a trader outside working hours, and was not alleged to have breached information security procedures.

The tribunal found that although the claimant was treated less favourably than Mr J by being dismissed, the evidence did not show primary facts from which race could be inferred as part of the reason for the treatment. It accepted that the respondent genuinely believed the claimant had been culpable of serious negligence in the performance of his duties and that dismissal was an appropriate sanction. The race discrimination claim was dismissed, so compensation did not require consideration.