The Question
Can an individual be liable for acts of discrimination against another employee?
The Answer
The Employment Appeal Tribunal considered this question in the case of Baldwin v Cleves School 2024. In this case the claimant brought claim under the Equality Act 2010 for disability discrimination against the employer and two employees.
The claimant was a newly qualified teacher with a disability covered by the Equality Act 2010. She resigned after incidents involving a colleague and a separate incident involving the head teacher. These incidents related to her disability and information about her health obtained from her tutor without her consent. The employee bought the claim based on disability discrimination.
The Employment Tribunal found in her favour and upheld two of her disability discrimination claims. It found the school liable for the action of the two employees and failure to take reasonable action to prevent acts of discrimination. The Employment Tribunal rejected the claims of vicarious liability. It held the acts were misguided and due to the employer not seeking competent legal advice in time. The claimant appealed to the Employment Appeals Tribunal and it upheld the claim that the two employees along with the employers both committed acts of disability discrimination.
What You Need To Do
Employers should now be mindful that individual can be named as respondents in the Employment Tribunal and can be held liable for acts of discrimination committed in the course of their employment. The employers only defence in this case is to show they undertook all reasonable steps to prevent discrimination by providing employees equality and diversity training. They should also have robust policies and procedures.
The Risk/Threat
Damages award for discrimination claim is unlimited and thus employers must ensure they have policies, procedures and staff training in place. If you require any further assistance, please do not hesitate to contact our HR/Legal advice line team at 01455 852 028.
