J Lindsay T Lithgow Wojciech Debek v Allander Security Limited — 2023

The claimant, who is Polish, worked for Allander Security Ltd as a Security Operative at the Forbo factory in Kirkcaldy from 18 March 2023. His final hearing concerned complaints of direct race discrimination and unlawful deduction from wages. The tribunal also recorded that an originally pleaded holiday pay complaint had been withdrawn and dismissed after payment.

On the race claim, the claimant said he had been allocated mainly night shifts while Scottish colleagues Kevin McBay and Owen Ritchie were allocated mainly day shifts. The tribunal accepted evidence that shifts were allocated by central control according to client need and hours, that the claimant was hired to replace Hugh Hunter, who had been predominantly on night shift at the site, and that the comparator employees had been in materially different situations because they had long-standing shift patterns established before his appointment. It also found that another Polish employee worked day shifts elsewhere, that other Scottish staff worked predominantly night shifts, and that the claimant did not frequently raise race-based concerns during his employment. The tribunal therefore dismissed the complaint of direct race discrimination.

On the wages claim, the claimant said he had carried out 3 hours of training on 24 March 2023 and had not been paid properly for it. The tribunal preferred the respondent’s evidence and documentary records, finding that he did not attend training on 24 March and instead attended fire safety training on 27 March 2023, which had been rostered for 6 hours but finished after about 3 hours. It found he was paid for the 6 hours scheduled, so the amount paid was not less than the amount properly payable. The complaint of unlawful deduction from wages was dismissed.